It has two main communities, Abertridwr and Senghenydd, which grew around the mining industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Senghenydd has a longer history than Abertridwr; it was once a cantref (or "hundred") encompassing quite a large area.

The Aber Valley Heritage Group has established a Heritage Museum situated within Senghenydd Community Centre in order to commemorate the scene of the largest mining disaster in British history: the 1913 Senghenydd Colliery Disaster when 439 miners died.

[2] The Aber Valley Male Voice Choir was created in 1959.

This article relating to a location in Caerphilly County Borough is a stub.