| Warden | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa Free State#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -27.8539°N 28.9667°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Free State |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Thabo Mofutsanyane |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Phumelela |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 17.0 |
| Population Total: | 10977 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 92.1% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 0.4% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.5% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 6.4% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.5% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Zulu |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 62.9% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Sotho |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 25.2% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 7.2% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | English |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 1.6% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 3.0% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 9890 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 9890 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 058 |
Warden is a town situated in the Free State province of South Africa on the N3 highway between Johannesburg and Durban.
The town is 56 km north of Harrismith and south-south-east of Villiers. It was laid out on the farm Rietvlei in 1912, proclaimed in 1913, and attained municipal status in 1920. It is said to be named after Charles Frederick Warden, landdrost of Harrismith from 1884 to 1900.[2]
Warden and Dirkie Uys School celebrated their centenary during September 2013. The town has one of the largest Dutch Reformed Churches in South Africa, with seating for 1,750.
After the African National Congress came into power in 1994, the town's infrastructure deteriorated. Most roads are now unpaved and most public buildings have been in decline. A young group of residents took part in restoring Warden. A new main road and several buildings has since been built or upgraded. One of the biggest municipal dams is also being built. Warden's locality (in the middle of SA and on the N3 highway connecting Gauteng and Durban), water supply, industrial land and labour makes it an ideal place for industrial development. Houses in Warden are reasonably priced. Industrial and residential land are also available.
The farming area around Warden produces a big part of the country's potatoes, maize and red meat.