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C+History
History · Gardner

Gardner dates to 1857, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #88 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it

Most of Gardner was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 19 buildings. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1880.

1857founded
4on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gardner began

When was Gardner founded?

1857

Gardner dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 203 in 18802020 census: 23,287169 years

How historic is Gardner?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gardner’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gardner is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #88 of 151 in Kansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gardner’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.6% of homes (±0.8) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 23 historic buildings, 9.4 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 42%

Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Gardner’s 9.4 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 23 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1857.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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’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.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 listings protect 23 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
23
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
WPA Beach House at Gardner Lake
WPA Beach House at Gardner LakeWilliam Thomas Turner Barn, built 1898Herman B. Foster HouseDowntown Gardner Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
WPA Beach House at Gardner LakeBuilding
William Thomas Turner BarnBuilt 1898
Herman B. Foster HouseBuilding
All 4 listings
Downtown Gardner Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2023

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Gardner came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gardner.

Read it all →

Gardner was founded where the Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon/California Trails divided. The Santa Fe Trail sent travelers southwest through Santa Fe and Albuquerque toward Los Angeles and San Diego. The Oregon/California Trails bore west for a few miles before turning north toward the Kansas River valley, followed the Big Blue River into present-day Nebraska, followed the Platte River west, and ultimately split in present-day Wyoming, Idaho or Utah.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gardner, 1857 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingGardner is established
  3. 1858Post officeThe Gardner post office opens
  4. 1898BuiltWilliam Thomas Turner Barn is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1992Born hereBubba Starling is born here
By decade

Gardner, decade by decade

Today12 recent
JCAC 1992(EMD SW900) & ATSF 999101 Caboose2016JCAC 1992(EMD SW900) & ATSF 999101 CabooseATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 8-19-162016ATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 8-19-16ATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 8-17-162016ATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 8-17-16ATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 10-21-162016ATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 10-21-16ATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 10-16-162016ATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 10-16-16ATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 1-27-162016ATSF 999101 Caboose and Small cart 1-27-16ATSF 999101 Caboose2016ATSF 999101 Caboose2 2 ATSF 999101 Caboose and Crossing Sign 1-27-1620162 2 ATSF 999101 Caboose and Crossing Sign 1-27-161 2 ATSF 999101 Caboose and Crossing Sign 1-27-1620161 2 ATSF 999101 Caboose and Crossing Sign 1-27-16"From Prairie Schooners to Locomotives" wayside with train and cars in the background at Gardner Junction2008"From Prairie Schooners to Locomotives" wayside with …"From Prairie Schooners to Locomotives" wayside at Gardner Junction2008"From Prairie Schooners to Locomotives" wayside at Ga…18. Parting of the Trails - Gardner Jct. (U.S. 56 and 183rd Street, Gardner, KS) on the California, Oregon, and Santa F…200418. Parting of the Trails - Gardner Jct. (U.S. 56 and…
On the map

Gardner on the map, 1957 to 1991

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

Gardner on the 1957 USGS mapGardner on the 1970 USGS mapGardner on the 1991 USGS map1957Gardner sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Gardner, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001880190019201940196019802000202023,287

Grew from 203 people in 1880 to 23,287 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gardner’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Gardner’s post office has been open since 1858.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Conestoga Estates Mobile Home ParkPonchos Mobile Home Park

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gardner TownshipIts storyC−McCamish Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpring Hill Township2 historic placesB−EdgertonIts storyCOlathe7 historic placesC

Questions about Gardner’s history

What year was Gardner founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gardner’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1880 counted 203 people here.

How does Gardner rank for history?

Gardner is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #88 of 151 in Kansas. 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.

What is on the National Register in Gardner?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the WPA Beach House at Gardner Lake (listed 1992, the first), and 1 historic district, the Downtown Gardner Historic District, with 19 contributing buildings. 23 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Gardner?

2% of Gardner’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 2003.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.