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History · Gardiner

Gardiner’s post office opened in 1864, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 33 buildings. Below: maps from 1898 on.

1864first post office
1on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gardiner began

When was Gardiner founded?

1864

The Gardiner post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gardiners City (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 259162 years
Founding year: the first Gardiner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gardiner’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 Gardiner are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Gardiner Historic District takes in 33 historic buildings.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1898 to 1930, drew every building in Gardiner.On the map since 19234 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1985. Watch Gardiner change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gardiner’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gardiner’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

1 listing protects 33 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
33
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Gardiner Historic District
Gardiner Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Italianate1
Vernacular Gothic1
Queen Anne1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Colonial1
Gardiner Historic DistrictClassical Revival

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

Every building

Gardiner, building by building, 1898–1930

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Gardiner fire insurance map, 1898, sheet 11898Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Gardiner, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1864. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 248 to 259 (+4%).

Timeline

Gardiner, 1851 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Gardiners City post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Gardiners City post office closes
  4. 1864Post officeThe Gardiner post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Gardiner, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Remnants of the Gardiner Mill2015Remnants of the Gardiner MillConfluence of Drainage Pond sloughs2014Confluence of Drainage Pond sloughsGardiner HD boundary map2013Gardiner HD boundary mapMapGardiner-s2011Gardiner-s
On the map

Gardiner on the map, 1923 to 1985

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

Gardiner on the 1923 USGS mapGardiner on the 1942 USGS mapGardiner on the 1956 USGS mapGardiner on the 1985 USGS map1923Reedsport 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 Gardiner.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Gardiner’s post office has been open since 1864. Another post office, Gardiners City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gardiners City
1851–1858
Gardiner
1864–today
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Smith River Ranger Stationbuilding
1cemetery inside Gardiner
Gardiner

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

Questions about Gardiner’s history

What year was Gardiner founded?

The Gardiner post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Gardiner?

One place: the Gardiner Historic District (listed 1994).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.