Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the southern part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Long an area of American Indians villages, the French also made a permanent settlement here because of its advantageous location above the Ouachita River. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 11,657. Camden is the principal city of the Camden Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Ouachita and Calhoun counties. Indigenous peoples of various cultures had lived along the rivers of Arkansas for thousands of years and created complex societies.