Time Capsule
The Time Capsule is meant to be a snapshot in time, illustrating where
Gardiner’s Downtown is in early 2004. Things are changing every day, so
rapidly that it is hard for us to keep up. We think it will be
interesting to look back at this page as a baseline to compare future
conditions.
In 2003 alone downtown, Gardiner boasted private investments of
$253,000 in building improvements, 16 new business openings, and the
sale of 7 commercial buildings. The Gardiner link to the new 6.5 mile
Kennebec River Rail Trail was completed and will, in 2004-2005, connect
the communities of Gardiner, Farmingdale, Hallowell and Augusta. This
trail will be the first of its type in Maine and is also part of the
Kennebec River Historic Waterway. There are significant improvements
planned for the beautiful Kennebec waterfront including more green
space, more boats slips with professional management and amenities,
more parking and possibly an out door amphitheater. Improvements to the
free municipal parking lot include the burying of utility wires from
the backs of the buildings, trees & shrubs, granite benches and
resurfacing. One of the most exciting projects is the potential public
and private collaboration to restore Johnson Hall Opera House built in
1864. A taskforce is looking into the restoration feasibility as well
as developing a sustainable program for cultural activities year round.
Specialty retail is thriving in the downtown as well as unique
restaurants and a brew pub. The downtown is attracting young
professionals, artists and artisans, and people who are looking for a
unique historic base to fuel their creativity.
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Gardiner Maine-A History
During the 1750’s, Dr. Silvester Gardiner, a
leading surgeon of Boston, acquired the rights to develop the land at
the confluence of the Kennebec River and Cobbosseeconte Stream. Dr.
Gardiner exploited the 130’ drop during the last mile of Cobbossee
Stream by erecting two saw mills, a fulling mill, a potash factory and
a grist mill. The gristmill was the only place within a 50-mile radius
where the pioneers could grind their corn. Therefore, Gardinerstown, as
it was known, soon became an economic center for the development of
numerous wharves.
From the early 1800’s until the Civil War, ship building and trading
was the basis of the community’s economy. By 1849, when Gardiner became
a city, there were 10 large wharves along the City’s waterfront serving
the shipping industry. Water-borne commerce included vast quantities of
lumber, as well as goods produced by many mills, tanneries and a large
pottery mill located on the Cobbossee Stream.
Beginning in the 1860’s, numerous paper mills were located in Gardiner.
The ice industry flourished between the 1880’s and 1920’s. Several shoe
and leather companies, in conjunction with the paper mills, ensured a
firm economic base until well after the Second World War.
Beginning in the 1960’s, many of the mills that formed the economic
foundation of the community began a slow process of decline and
eventually closure. The downtown became more of a service center with
some niche retail.
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