Gardiner, Oregon

{{Short description| Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Gardiner Historic District

| nrhp_type = hd

| nocat = yes

| image = Gardiner Historic District (Gardiner, Oregon).jpg

| image_size = 250

| alt = Photograph of three houses along a street.

| caption = The Gardiner Historic District in 2011.

| district_map = Gardiner HD boundary map.png

| locmapin =

| map_width = 235

| map_alt = Map of the Gardiner Historic District boundaries.

| map_caption = The Gardiner Historic District boundaries.

| coordinates = {{coord|43.730278|-124.11|region:US-OR_type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| location = Gardiner, Oregon, roughly bounded by 3rd, Camp, 2nd, Pitt, Spring, Front and Garden Streets

| nearest_city = Reedsport, Oregon

| area = {{convert|35|acre}}

| built = 1870–1940

| builder =

| demolished =

| restored =

| restored_by =

| architect =

| architecture =

| added = January 31, 1994

| refnum = 93000003

}}

Gardiner is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Douglas County, Oregon, United States, across the Umpqua River from Reedsport. It is located on U.S. Route 101. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 248.{{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Gardiner CDP, Oregon |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 10, 2012 }}

Gardiner is named for a Boston merchant whose ship, the Bostonian, shipwrecked at the mouth of the Umpqua on October 1, 1850.{{cite book

| last = McArthur

| first = Lewis A.

| author-link = Lewis A. McArthur

|author2=Lewis L. McArthur

|author2-link=Lewis L. McArthur

| title = Oregon Geographic Names

| orig-year = 1928

| edition = Seventh

| year = 2003

| publisher = Oregon Historical Society Press

| location = Portland, Oregon

| isbn = 0-87595-277-1

| pages = 392 }} Gardiner was seeking to trade along the river, and most of his goods were saved from the ship and moved to the location that came to be the town of Gardiner. In 1851, the site became the headquarters of the Umpqua customs district, and a post office named "Gardiners City" was established the same year. The name of the post office changed to "Gardiner City" and eventually to its current name.

The Gardiner Historic District, which encompasses nearly all of Gardiner,{{Citation | last1 = Young | first1 = Ella Mae | date = December 10, 1993 | title = National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Gardiner Historic District | url = {{NRHP url|id=93000003}} | access-date = April 1, 2013 | format = PDF}}. has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994.{{Citation | last = Oregon Parks and Recreation Department | author-link = Oregon Parks and Recreation Department | title = Oregon Historic Sites Database | url = http://heritagedata.prd.state.or.us/historic/ | access-date = April 2, 2013}}. Several steamboats were constructed at Gardiner for trade up the Umpqua River.

A plywood plant opened in Gardiner in 1954, joining the lumber mill (or sawmill) that had been in the town for many years.{{Citation needed|date=September 2007}}

Gardiner was formerly the site of the first International Paper mill on the West Coast.{{cite web|title=Paper Making Timeline|publisher=International Paper|url=http://internationalpaper.com/Our%20Company/About%20Us/Paper%20Making%20Timeline.html|access-date=2007-08-29}} The paper mill operated from 1963 until 1999, and was one of the largest employers on the southern Oregon Coast.{{cite news| last=Chambers| first=Susan| title=Eight seconds and it's over| newspaper= Corvallis Gazette-Times| url=http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2006/05/07/news/community/news04.txt| date= May 6, 2006| access-date= 2007-08-29}} The mill buildings were demolished in 2006.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tF1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qfADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4389%2C1347558 |work=Sunday Register-Guard |location=(Eugene, Oregon) |last=Ross |first=Winston |title=Boom! Crash! A longtime mill is imploded, marking the end of an era |date=May 7, 2006 |page=A1}}

A railroad, the Longview, Portland & Northern (LP&N), served the IP mill until it closed.[http://www.brian894x4.com/LPandNrailroad.html Gardiner Division]—History of the Longview, Portland & Northern spur line that served the IP plant, from Abandoned Railroads of the Pacific Northwest The railroad runs from East Gardiner Junction to the old plant site.