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History · Gardner

Gardner’s post office opened in 1898

Most of Gardner was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gardner began

When was Gardner founded?

1898

The Gardner post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 364128 years
Founding year: the first Gardner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gardner’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Gardner are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Gardner’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gardner’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Gardner, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gardner yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Gardner is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Hardee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 364 as of the 2020 census. It is located on U.S. Route 17 about 11 miles (18 km) north of Arcadia.

Its first post office opened in 1898. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 463 to 364 (-21%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Gardner

Nobody well known was born in Gardner itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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Jay GarnerUnited States Army general and United States Ma… · b. 1938
Andrew McCutchenAmerican professional baseball player · b. 1986
Bernice MosbyAmerican basketball player · b. 1984
Walter Clayton Jr.American basketball player · b. 2003
Matt LaPortaAmerican baseball player · b. 1985
Tom GordonAmerican baseball player · b. 1967
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Gardner had its own post office from 1898 to 1954.

Gardner
1898–1954
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Gardner Airportairport

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Gardner’s history

What year was Gardner founded?

The Gardner post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.