Gardner Uptown Historic District

Uptown Gardner is the original town center of Gardner, Massachusetts, laid out around 1785 on the summit of Glazier Hill. The district covers about 47 acres and includes 93 buildings, 4 sites and 4 objects. Its focal point is the brick Victorian Gothic First Congregational Church, set between the Old Town Common and the Old Burying Ground, both established in 1785. The burying ground holds about 610 tombstones, including graves of petition signers for the town's incorporation and Revolutionary War veterans. Elm Street forms a grand avenue of large houses, among them the 1792 Rev. Jonathan Osgood House and a row of Greek Revival houses. Most buildings are wood-frame dwellings from the mid 19th century, while civic buildings and churches are mostly brick and architect designed. With no waterways, the hilltop never developed major industry and was overtaken by Gardner's mill villages. That left a well-preserved collection of buildings from the 18th through early 20th centuries, with little modern intrusion.