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C−History
History · Gardner Township

Half of Gardner Township’s homes were built after 1979

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #615 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Gardner Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1909 on and old-book passages.

0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

About Gardner Township’s history

How historic is Gardner Township?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Gardner Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gardner Township is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #615 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gardner Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19406.5% of homes (±3.2) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 20%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Gardner Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points).

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Gardner Township’s past

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

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gardner Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Gardner Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19093 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1971. Watch Gardner Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Salisbury
1839–1916
Cross Plains
1873–1897
Farmingdale
1874–1931
Bradfordton
1875–1923
Riddlehill
1899–1903
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BradfordtonFarmingdaleRiddle HillSalisbury
Gone or out of use
Crackneck SchoolschoolCross Plains Post Officepost officeGriffith RLA AirportairportHazlett SchoolschoolLindbergh Air Mail Fieldairport
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gardner Township
FarmingdaleHopwoodMorganOld SalemSalisbury

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

Help out

Start Gardner Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Gardner Township on the map, 1909 to 1971

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gardner Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Gardner Township on the 1909 USGS mapGardner Township on the 1940 USGS mapGardner Township on the 1971 USGS map1909Tallula sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gardner Township.

The story so far

Gardner Township, in brief

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

Gardner Township is located in Sangamon County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 4,245 and it contained 1,732 housing units. The township contains the unincorporated communities of Bradfordton and Salisbury. The township annexed the western half of Salisbury Township in 1989, thereby taking in the unincorporated village of Salisbury and increasing in size.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,245 to 4,637 (+9%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Gardner Township in 1912

Passages that mention Gardner Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

James Perry Sims attended the country schools in Gardner Township and the Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Ind. He was occupied on the home farm until he was twentytwo years of age, then turned his attention to teaching school, and has been identified with educational interests ever since. His …
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Sangamon County1912 · page 1622Read the page →
Read the text

James Perry Sims attended the country schools in Gardner Township and the Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Ind. He was occupied on the home farm until he was twentytwo years of age, then turned his attention to teaching school, and has been identified with educational interests ever since. His beginning was made in Gardner Township near Farming-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Gardner Township, 1839 to 1931

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839Post officeThe Salisbury post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe Cross Plains post office opens
  4. 1874Post officeThe Farmingdale post office opens
  5. 1897Post officeThe Cross Plains post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1916Post officeThe Salisbury post office closes
  9. 1931Post officeThe Farmingdale post office closes
By decade

Gardner Township, decade by decade

Today15 recent
Gardner Township building 2026-05-262026Gardner Township building 2026-05-26Bradfordton elevator with barn 2026-08-152026Bradfordton elevator with barn 2026-08-15Bradfordton elevator from west 2026-08-152026Bradfordton elevator from west 2026-08-15Sign commemorating the Riviera, a first class roadside diner located2023Sign commemorating the Riviera, a first class roadsid…Bob and Peggy Kraft donated Riviera Roadhouse to Gardner, Illinois on Route 662023Bob and Peggy Kraft donated Riviera Roadhouse to Gard…2 cell jail built in 1906 located on Route 6620232 cell jail built in 1906 located on Route 662 cell jail built in 1906 located on Route 6620232 cell jail built in 1906 located on Route 66Historic 2 celled jail sign2023Historic 2 celled jail signRoute 66 store covered in Coca-Cola signs2023Route 66 store covered in Coca-Cola signsTypical Route 66 roadway signs along a road2023Typical Route 66 roadway signs along a roadHistoric building on main street2023Historic building on main streetEvery Buddies Restaurant2023Every Buddies RestaurantCoca-Cola sign outside Route 662023Coca-Cola sign outside Route 66Route 66 sign2023Route 66 signRoute 66 sign on Route 662023Route 66 sign on Route 66
Famous people

Famous people close to Gardner Township

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

See all →
William B. McKinleyUnited States Senator from Illinois · b. 1856
Charles McGavinU.S. Representative · b. 1874
Paul SwanAmerican dancer, painter, scultptor, actor, and… · b. 1883
R
Robert FallsAmerican theatre director · b. 1954
C
Carl VandagriftAmerican baseball player · b. 1883
J
Jack BrittinAmerican baseball player · b. 1924
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Capital Township44 historic placesASpringfield44 historic placesAFancy Creek Township2 historic placesB+Springfield Township5 historic placesACartwright Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Gardner Township’s history

How does Gardner Township rank for history?

Gardner Township is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #615 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Gardner Township?

7% of Gardner Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1979.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (12), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.