Gardner, Massachusetts

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Gardner, Massachusetts
other_name =
native_name =
nickname = Chair City
settlement_type = City
motto =


imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Gardner


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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Worcester County in Massachusetts


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Massachusetts
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Worcester
subdivision_type3 =
subdivision_name3 =
subdivision_type4 =
subdivision_name4 =
government_footnotes =
government_type = Mayor-council city
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Mark P. Hawke (R)
leader_title1 = City Council
leader_name1 = 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)
leader_title2 =
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established_title = Settled
established_date = 1764
established_title2 = Incorporated
established_date2 = 1785
established_title3 =
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area_magnitude =
unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 = 59.6
area_land_km2 = 57.5
area_water_km2 = 2.1
area_total_sq_mi = 23.0
area_land_sq_mi = 22.2
area_water_sq_mi = 0.8
area_water_percent =
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population_as_of = 2000
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population_total = 20770
population_density_km2 = 361.4
population_density_sq_mi = 936.0
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timezone = Eastern
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = Eastern
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 42 |latm = 34 |lats = 30 |latNS = N
longd = 71 |longm = 59 |longs = 55 |longEW = W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 324
elevation_ft = 1100
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 01440
area_code = 351 / 978
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 25-25485
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0610059
website = http://www.gardner-ma.gov/
footnotes =

Gardner, Massachusetts is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,770 as of the 2000 census. Gardner is home to Dunn State Park, Gardner Heritage State Park, Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mount Wachusett Community College.

History

Named in honor of 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, composed 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. As of July 2008, it has announced they will terminate production. The Nichols & Stone name, the intellectual property and the design rights were purchased by the L. & J.G. Stickley of Manlius, N.Y.

Geography

Gardner is located at coor dms|42|34|26|N|71|59|27|W|city (42.573920, -71.990818)GR|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.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|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.

Events

Infobox Mass Town Govt
county= Worcester
align = right
wraparound = yes
clerk_courts = Dennis P. McManus (D)
cty_treasurer = Position Eliminated
da = Joseph D. Early, Jr. (D)
deeds = Anthony J. Vigliotti(D)
probate = Stephen Abraham (D)
sheriff = Guy W. Glodis (D)
state_rep = Robert L. Rice, Jr. (D)
state_sen = Robert A. Antonioni (D)
gov_councilors = Thomas J. Foley (D)
fed_rep = John W. Olver (D-1st District),
fed_sen = Edward 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.

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.

References

*Rouland, Steve "Heywood-Wakefield Modern Furniture", 1994.

External links

* [http://www.gardner-ma.gov/ Gardner official website]
* [http://www.greatergardner.net/ Gardner Online Magazine]
* [http://www.gardnerma.com/ Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/dunn.htm Dunn Pond State Park]
* [http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/ghsp.htm Gardner Heritage State Park]
* [http://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Lake_Wampanoag/index.php Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary]
* [http://www.mwcc.mass.edu/ Mount Wachusett Community College]