The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Gardner is named for its founder, Henry C. Gardner. In 2023, Mike Serena was reelected as mayor of Gardner.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Be one of the first
Start Gardner’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gardner’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Gardner, decade by decade
Today9 photos
CommonsMayor Mike Serena in the Gardner, Illinois historic two-cel…2024
CommonsMayor Mike Serena in the Gardner, Illinois historic two-cel…2024
CommonsMayor Mike Serena in the Gardner, Illinois historic two-cel…2024
CommonsUntitled photo2014
CommonsAmtrak Pass 22011
CommonsAmtrak Pass2011
CommonsAmtrak Entering2011
CommonsEntrée de ville de2010
CommonsILMap-doton-Gardner2006National Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Gardner is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Gardner has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Pioneer Gothic Church in Dwight, 9.2 miles away.
Gardner and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Gardner. Tap a dot.
How a place gets listed
1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Pioneer Gothic Church’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Gardner?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Gardner’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (10). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.