Gardner, CO

Context: Gardners and Gardners.

Two years ago, we received a query about Gardiner, OR. The question was: for whom was the town named? While getting information about the town in Oregon, we went through a list of places in the U.S. with the Gardner (Gardiner) name.

Turned out that Henry D. Gardiner was the namesake of the Oregon town near where his ship (barque Bostonian) wrecked in 1850. This Henry was a descendant of George of Rhode Island.

Lately, I have been following trails west in terms of the long reach of New England (both north and south). Travelers going west who left from Independence all went by Gardner, KS after which the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails split (Gardner Junction).  The town was named for the Governor of Massachusetts, Henry Joseph Gardner. This Henry was a descendant of Richard of Woburn.

Today, we go to the region of the Sangre de Cristo range. This impressive range was visible to those who took the northern part of the Santa Fe Trail. Rather than cut down toward Las Vegas, NM, the travelers went west and joined up with traffic coming south from Denver and other northern points.

On their way south, the wagon went through what is now Walensburg on their way to tackle the Raton Pass. A mere 30 miles or so to the northwest of the Walensburg area, we find Gardner, CO.

The area has a long Spanish history. The Spanish Conquistadors visited. Settlement from the east began in the 1850s. The Post Office had the Gardner name in 1871. The town is named for Herbert Gardner who was the son of Governor Gardner (MA). So, Herbert was a descendant of Richard of Woburn.

The below list is of interesting reads about the area. Some have photos of the area, including a landmark named Gardner Butte.

Colorado: A Guide to the Highest State (1941 - a Works Project Administration publication)
Gardner (Huerfano County Government)
Colorado's Hispanic Towns: Real or Ghosts? (blog by CU-Denver Professor)

This site brought together two old cultures. Santa Fe, which is south of Gardner, was the mainstay of northern Mexico from the 1500s. The trails carried travelers from the east on their way west. As such, the trail travelers had covered more miles.

There are a few more Gardner locations in Northern America for us to mention.

Remarks: Modified: 12/03/2019

08/07/2016 -- Gardner, CO is at the entry of the Wet Mountain Valley. Herbert Gardner introduced agriculture into the area early.

12/03/2019 -- Updated link to image of agricultural field.

Gardiners Island

Context: Gardners and Gardners

One result of doing Gardner Research is that we find Gardner influences everywhere. For instance, in the times of the westward movement, a trail fork called Gardner Junction was seen by everyone heading to Santa Fe or to Oregon and other points west. That is, if the travelers took the route out of Independence, Mo, then they saw Gardner Junction. There were other trails to the north and south. Along the west coast, there is Gardiner, OR. It obtained its name from the owner (H.D. Gardiner) of the ship (barque Bostonian) that wrecked in that area.

So, one then starts to think about all things Gardner. In terms of direct Thomas of Salem descendants, we will be taking a wide-spread view, especially in relation to the expansion of the United States.

In the time of Dr. Frank, his book had a list of different families. The 1933 publication had a longer list than he provided in 1907. Too, we have added to the list for those families who, seemingly, came later in, or after, the colonial period. This will all be written up in several places. Here, we will have a category related to Gardner families (our second most-read post is Gardners and Gardners).

Also, DNA and related studies will be adding to the mix: DNA and Genealogy.

--- The Subject ---

Lion Gardiner
(source?)

While researching the provenance of a portrait (image), I ran across this story about the last Gardiner of the island.

   New York Times: Gardiner, 93, Lord of His Own Island, Dies

Gardiners Island was "reportedly" purchased by Lion Gardiner from the Montaukett tribe (their History Overview).

It has remained in the family from the colonial times until now when the sole owner is Robert's niece.

Remarks: Modified: 10/30/2018

07/16/2016 -- Added links to H.D. Gardiner and the Bostonian. We are working with David T. Gardner on the Gardiners of London. From there, we will explore threads to now plus look at origins, in general. In the U.S., we tend to not pay real attention to what was going on when the colonials came over, except, seemingly, superficially. With the upcoming 400ths, we need to correct that oversight. Too, the 200ths of the expansion will come to the forefront.

10/30/2018 -- 2nd printing of The Gardner Annals, in which are 'All things Gardner' articles. We will rewrite the article on the barque Bostonian.

04/05/2019 -- Relation of the Pequot Wars (1660) - a copy is browse-able or can be downloaded, an eye-witness account by Lion Gardiner of the Pequot Wars. Having added more text from our annals collection, we are looking at the early references to New England and the Cape Ann crew.

Gardner Junction

In the last post (Trails west), we looked at ways to get from the East Coast to the West Coast prior to the modern age. Of course, the choices were by land (below) or sea. In terms of the latter, one could cut across Central America or take the long journey around the end of South America. We can show examples of each of these.

Now, the American Indians were in all areas of the country prior to the arrival of the Europeans. Then, there were many mountain men and other explorers around and about. Lewis & Clark was the first organized party sent from the U.S. Spain had already ventured inward from the West Coast and from Mexico. Coronado ended up not far from Gardner Junction.

But, the Trails are, by right, the focus of many as they think of western travel. There were several ways to get to the KC area, but that was the launching point. And, not long after, there was a split at Gardner Junction which is just west of Gardner, KS. This map illustrates how the Trails went after the split.

 
It comes from the National Park Service site which provides three maps plus other graphics related to the subject. One of these deals with the advent of the railroad. With the transcontinental travel via rail being available, the traffic on the Trails ceased.

Remarks: Modified: 04/23/2021

04/02/2016 -- Map showing Gardner Junction and the split of the trails west of Gardner, KS

06/11/2016 -- We have 200th anniversaries coming up.

06/17/2016 -- More on trails

07/16/2016 -- Gardner's Beacon, Vol. VI, No. 1

06/29/2019 -- Example mountain man: Jedediah Strong Smith.

Gardner, KS

Earlier, we looked at places with the Gard[i]ner name. Then, we took Gardiner, OR and wrote about the person for whom the town was named, Henry Dearborn Gardiner (pg 31, v 35, no 1, TEG; pg 6, v II,n I, The Gardner Annals). That same family was the inspiration for Gardiner, ME.

So, talking of Oregon, there is a town on the trails (see next) in Kansas, named Gardner. It may have been named for Henry Joseph Gardner, Governor of Massachusetts (1855-1858) as there were many pioneers from Massachusetts in the area.

First, about the town. It was where three trails split into two: Santa Fe Trail, Oregon/California Trails. The Santa Fe Trail ended up in a city in one of the oldest areas of the U.S. The other two trails were coincident until much further west where the California Trail headed south; after going west out of Gardner for awhile, they headed up to Nebraska then west to what is now called Wyoming.

Now the Gardner was Henry Joseph Gardner who was a descendant of Richard Gardner of Woburn who is on the list provided by Dr. Frank (the Gardners and Gardners post is the most popular all time).

---

The mid-west and central parts of the country are full of displaced New Englanders. A little up the road from Gardner is Lawrence whose main drag is named Massachusetts.

Remarks:  Modified: 06/24/2022

04/02/2016 -- Map showing Gardner Junction and the split of the trails west of Gardner, KS.

08/13/2017 -- Posts on Lawrence (and surrounds): Trails West, Westward Ho, Blogging and such, Final Migration, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Kansas and Lawrence. 

10/26/2018 -- Map of Gardner Junction. 

08/07/2020 -- In this post, we are looking at two disparate spots that share a name, however there are many points in-between. Like Eudora, KS. Where "The Wakarusa meets the Kaw" is on their history site and is an example of local lore getting some attention. See "Along the Western Trails."

06/24/2022 -- Updated links to Eudora's website as topic continues to be of interest: A Ride to Kansas. 

Places and names

Context: Gardner place names

This week, there was a query from Dr. Stuart Gardner Garrett of Oregon about the "1850 Gardner connection" with the ship, Bostonian. Did we know?

Well, no; however, there is an interest in places as they involve people. And, this story is very interesting. Too, Gardner Research has this as one of its foci.

From one account, a ship coming up from San Francisco found another that had run up on a sand bar in a river in Oregon. One story was told by a descendant of a passenger on the later ship, Kate Heath. The ship that was lost was the Bostonian.

Firstly, there were no lives lost; the crew had saved the cargo which was of a very useful variety. As well, the crew had begun to dismantle the ship which was used to build structures in the town that was to be. The cargo was stored on shore under the ship's canvas. At that place, the town was built using the ship's lumber and part of the supplies.

The town? Gardiner, OR. It was named after the New Englander, named Gardiner, who had funded the ship. The descendant's account said that Coffin was captain. Actually, the captain was George Snelling who was a nephew of Mr. Gardiner. Another thing of note is that Winchester, Payne & Co. was involved.

The History of the Pacific Northwest (Volume 1) had a nice coverage of the story. But, they did not have much about Gardiner. There were various suggestions in many later writings.

Finally, research done for the National Register of Historic Places pulled things together (see page 8) in 1994. They identified the owner as Henry Gardiner, also Coffin was captain of the Kate Heath. Later work, added an initial. So, we have Henry D. Gardiner.

But, who was, and whence came, he? To be studied further.

There will be regular "Places" posts, due, in part, to the stories associated with them. Descendants of New England's Gardners can be found everywhere in the U.S. New England towns drove all sorts of settlements (to wit, Ipswich Canada which covers the area near Gardner, MA but fairly remote in the 1600s). Lawrence, KS has a main drag of Massachusetts Avenue due to the influence of the founding folk. Not far away is Gardner, KS. Perhaps, a list of cities/towns named Gardner/Gardiner in every state ought to be done.

Back to Henry, though. Unfortunately, "Bostonian" was popular for names of all types of boats (oops). Too, did no one in Oregon ask particulars about Henry, at the time? This seems so much like the case of hidden information about Thomas.

Remarks: Modified: 02/09/2020

11/19/2014 - Henry D. Gardiner and his life/times.

12/23/2015 -- Places to research origin of: Gardner - CO, IL, KS, MA, ND, TN, WI, NJ; Gardiner - NY, MT, ME.

03/17/2015 -- Timeline of the barque Bostonian

04/07/2015 -- Article submitted for review (see Timeline).

08/07/2016 -- Gardner, KS; Gardiners Island; Gardner, CO

08/17/2018 -- The 2nd wife of H.D. was Caroline B. Turner (see note this day at this post) of Maine and not Caroline C. Turner of Nantucket.

03/02/2019 -- Update of information (lots - Gardiner that was, Historic Puzzles). Added the image as we're building an index via images at our portal to truth.

02/09/2020 -- A couple more places: Gardner, IL; Gardiner, MT.