Gardner, Massachusetts
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| Gardner, Massachusetts | |||
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| Nickname: Chair City | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Massachusetts | ||
| County | Worcester | ||
| Settled | 1764 | ||
| Incorporated | 1785 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Mayor-council city | ||
| - Mayor | Mark P. Hawke (R) | ||
| - City Council | Alice P. Anderson Joshua L. Cormier Ronald F. Cormier Kim M. Dembrosky Scott J. Graves Cleo E.Monette Neil W. Janssens (Ward 1) Charles J. LeBlanc (Ward 2) Roger Jaillet (Ward 3) James J. Minns (Ward 4) James J. Robinson (Ward 5) |
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| Area | |||
| - Total | 23.0 sq mi (59.6 km²) | ||
| - Land | 22.2 sq mi (57.5 km²) | ||
| - Water | 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 1,100 ft (324 m) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - Total | 20,770 | ||
| - Density | 936.0/sq mi (361.4/km²) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 01440 | ||
| Area code(s) | 351 / 978 | ||
| FIPS code | 25-25485 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0610059 | ||
| Website: http://www.gardner-ma.gov/ | |||
Gardner, Massachusetts is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,770 at the 2000 census. Gardner is home to Dunn Pond State Park, Gardner Heritage State Park, Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mount Wachusett Community College.
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[edit] History
Named after Col. Thomas Gardner, the community was first settled in 1764 and officially incorporated as a town in 1785 after receiving land grants from the surrounding towns of Ashburnham, Westminster, Templeton and Winchendon. Dating from about 1805, it became a center for lumber and furniture industries. Indeed, Gardner is known as the "Chair City" and "The Furniture Capital of New England", due to its long history in furniture production. By 1910 it had 20 chair factories which produced 4 million chairs per year. It was also noted for silversmithing. The Gardner State Colony for the Insane pioneered the use of cottage residences. Gardner was incorporated as a city in 1923. It became a filming location for the 1992 movie, School Ties.
Gardner is the birthplace of Heywood-Wakefield furniture, dating from 1826 when the five Heywood brothers began to fashion furniture in a barn near their father's farm. Brothers Walter, Levi, Seth, Benjamin and William began that year making wooden chairs. In the early years, Walter fashioned chairs by hand, also using a foot lathe. He was soon joined by his brothers Levi and Benjamin, part-time, while running a nearby country store. A new store was built across the street from the original store. In 1831 Levi moved to Boston where he established an outlet store to sell the chairs, while Benjamin and William remained in Gardner to manufacture the chairs. A fire destroyed the Heywoods' chair shop in 1834. In 1835 the partnership of B. F. Heywood & Co. was formed, comprised of Benjamin, Walter and William, with Moses Wood and James W. Gates.Gardner was also the home of the Conant-Ball furniture factory. Nichols & Stone Chair Company traces their origin to 1762 in Westminster, Massachusetts. The company moved to Gardner at the turn of the 20th century and remains in business there to this day.
 Biggest Chair, c. 1910 |
 Elm Street, c. 1908 |
 Chestnut Street, c. 1906 |
[edit] Geography
Gardner is located at (42.573920, -71.990818)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.0 square miles (59.6 km²), of which, 22.2 square miles (57.5 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it (3.52%) is water. Gardner is situated on Crystal Lake.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 20,770 people, 8,282 households, and 5,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 936.0 people per square mile (361.4/km²). There were 8,838 housing units at an average density of 398.3/sq mi (153.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.13% White, 2.29% African American, 0.34% Native American, 1.37% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.22% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.08% of the population. 19.6% were of French Canadian, 17.6% French, 12.7% Irish, 6.7% English, 6.3% Polish and 6.2% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 8,282 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,334, and the median income for a family was $47,164. Males had a median income of $35,804 versus $26,913 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,624. About 7.0% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Events
| County government: Worcester County | |
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| Clerk of Courts: | Dennis P. McManus (D) |
| District Attorney: | Joseph D. Early, Jr. (D) |
| Registrar of Deeds: | Anthony J. Vigliotti(D) |
| Registrar of Probate: | Stephen Abraham (D) |
| County Sheriff: | Guy W. Glodis (D) |
| State government | |
| State Representative(s): | Robert L. Rice, Jr. (D) |
| State Senator(s): | Robert A. Antonioni (D) |
| Governor's Councilor(s): | Thomas J. Foley (D) |
| Federal government | |
| U.S. Representative(s): | John W. Olver (D-1st District), |
| U.S. Senators: | Ted Kennedy (D), John Kerry (D) |
- For many years, the Gardner Municipal Golf Course has been home to the Central Massachusetts High School Cross Country Championships. Every three years, it is also home to the Massachusetts High School State Cross Country Championships. The course record for the hilly 2.9 mile course is 14:00 set by Andy Powell in 1998 while Lynn Jennings has the girl's record with a time of 15:50 from 1977.
[edit] Notable Residents
- Jacques Cesaire, NFL Defensive End for the San Diego Chargers
- Mark Gearan, president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- Hadassah Lieberman, wife of U.S. Senator from Connecticut and 2000 Democratic nominee for Vice President Joseph Lieberman
- Lucy Stone, women's rights activist, whose house still stands on Elm Street.
[edit] References
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- Rouland, Steve Heywood-Wakefield Modern Furniture, 1994.
[edit] External links
- Gardner official website
- Gardner Online Magazine
- Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce
- Dunn Pond State Park
- Gardner Heritage State Park
- Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary
- Mount Wachusett Community College
- Gardner, Massachusetts is at coordinates Coordinates:
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