About Us

Welcome to the Town of Gardner in Door County!

Postings for town meetings are located at the Gardner Town Hall, Stevenson Pier Minimart, and Gardner (BUG) Fire Station.

The Town of Gardner is located in Southern Door County, Wisconsin.  The town hall is located at 2344 County Highway C and Four Corners Road.  The Town of Gardner boarders with the towns of Nasewaupee and Brussels in Southern Door County.  Our northern and northwestern boundary lies on the beautiful Bay of Green Bay.  The town area covers 113.5 square miles, of which 34.3 square miles of it is land and 79.2 square miles of it is water.  The unincorporated community of Little Sturgeon is also located within the town.  We have a mixture of family farm operations, rural residential, undeveloped natural areas, and Town and County parks.  Of the 34.3 square miles of land, the Town of Gardner is home to approximately 1,100 people, 493 households, and 352 families, plus a substantial amount of seasonals, and local businesses.

Most of our food establishments, pubs, businesses, and lodging providers are open year round.  Our town is known for its beautiful shores and seasonal fishing and boating recreation.  Some of the all-time seasonal favorites like Door County Cherries and apples come from right here in our town.    If you plan to visit, or are planning a place to live, the Town of Gardner provides a great place for both tourism and seasonal and permanent housing with relaxing country side and water vistas, recreation, and educational areas.  The Southern Door School District is committed to high educational standards, “Soaring High with the Eagles”.  Gardner is also part of a joint Fire Department with the towns of Brussels, and Union which form the joint fire district of Brussels, Union, & Gardner Fire Department (B.U.G.).  Emergency Medical Services are provided by the Door County Emergency Services Division and our local Gardner Emergency Medical Responders.

If you are wondering about the origin of Gardner, originally it was called Chickatoek (Chickatock).  The name changed to Gardner from Chickatoek on 21 March 1866.  Some of the first settlers were Increase Claflin, a New York fisherman-farmer, who settled at Little Sturgeon Point with his family in 1835 and is considered the first settler in Door County, and Freeland B. Gardner, Pensaukee WI, who began a shipyard in the 1850’s.  Ethnic groups were comprised of Belgians and Irish.  Occupations of the time were shipbuilding, lumbering, fishing, and quarrying Lime and Ice.  Some early businesses were, 1. Freeland B. Gardner, (1850), steam mill (saw & flour) and shipyard.  He was the main employment for Brussels people having a total of 400 employees at one point.  He bought CLAFLIN’S place.  2. Williamson’s Shingle Mill, proprietors: John & James Williamson and 3. Gardner Lime Kiln, proprietor: Freeland B. Gardner.  Some families associate with the township were Stevenson (at Little Sturgeon), Claflin, Neuville, Connard (Counard), Farley, Gigot, and Riley.  (Historic information provided by Peninsula Genealogical Society – Door County WI).

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