Located on the banks of the Kennebec River, Gardiner was named after the prominent Bostonian physician, Dr. Sylvester Gardiner, who made a fortune with his multiple apothecary shops in the southern states of New England before purchasing large quantities of land in Gardiner, Maine.
Gardiner has been home to several famous and notable people, including seven gevernors and congressmen. Julia Ward Howe lived in Gardiner for a period of time as well. She was an activist, abolitionist and poet who was responsible for inventing Mother's Day and who also wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic in 1862.
