Gardner, Illinois

Gardner
815
FIPS code	17-28638
GNIS feature ID	2398944[1]
Wikimedia Commons	Gardner, Illinois

Gardner is a village in Grundy County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,366 at the 2020 census.^[3]

Gardner is a small mid-west town about 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Chicago on Historic U.S. 66. Gardner hosts an annual celebration on the first weekend in May in conjunction with the Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor. Gardner is known on U.S. 66 for its historic 2-cell jail and the Riviera Restaurant, 1-mile (1.6 km) east of town, a prohibition hangout of Al Capone with a beer cooler located in a basement vault. On June 8, 2010, the Rivera Restaurant was destroyed by a fire that broke out in the basement.^{[citation needed]}

History

Gardner is named for its founder, Henry C. Gardner.^[4]

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Gardner has a total area of 2.94 square miles (7.61 km²), of which 2.91 square miles (7.54 km²) (or 99.01%) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km²) (or 0.99%) is water.^[5]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	940		—
1880	786		−16.4%
1890	1,094		39.2%
1900	1,036		−5.3%
1910	946		−8.7%
1920	937		−1.0%
1930	869		−7.3%
1940	864		−0.6%
1950	981		13.5%
1960	1,041		6.1%
1970	1,212		16.4%
1980	1,322		9.1%
1990	1,237		−6.4%
2000	1,406		13.7%
2010	1,463		4.1%
2020	1,366		−6.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

As of the

of any race were 6.52% of the population.

There were 569 households, out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.91% were married couples living together, 4.75% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.42% were non-families. 20.56% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.27% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 2.51.

The village's age distribution consisted of 15.1% under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $67,441, and the median income for a family was $71,544. Males had a median income of $56,250 versus $40,383 for females. The

, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Gardner has one grade school and one high school. The high school is known as Gardner-South Wilmington (GSW) High School and is actually the result of three towns combined. Students from the towns of Braceville, East Brooklyn and, South Willmington also attend. GSW competes with Dwight Township High School (Dwight, IL) in several sports including football, track, cross country, and golf.

Notable people

• Lewis M. Long (1878–1938), U.S. Representative from Illinois, born in Gardner.
• Charles L. Phillips (1856–1937), U.S. Army brigadier general^[7]
• Harry Traver (1877–1961), American Engineer and Roller Coaster designer, born in Gardner.
• Illinois Supreme Court, was born in Gardner.^[8]

References