Our Local Community

Community - noun (ka-'myü-na-tE)
A. a unified body of individuals B. the people with common interests living in a particular area C : an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location D: a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society.

Gardiner has received designations as a Main Street Maine Community, a Preserve America community and its downtown includes a National Historic District.  Downtown Gardiner is located where the Cobboseecontee Stream meets the Kennebec River.  Gardiner boasts beautiful parks, 500' of riverfront boardwalk, a kayak & canoe launch,deep river access, beautiful 19th and 20th century commercial buildings in a designated hisotoric district, and a Farmers' Market. The downtown is home to shops, restaurants, artist studios, performing arts center, dance studio, library, post office, high tech firms and a mix of professional and personal services. With its brick sidewalks and days-gone-by ambience, it has become a destination to those seeking the charm and comfort of the way things used to be and to those looking to join a progressive community where there is plenty of room to make a difference.  Downtown living offers a unique lifestyle where autos are optional and everything you need is within walking or biking distance.  Many buildings have been rehabbed- keeping the best of the past and adding the comforts of today. We invite you to come see for yourself.

The Community
Gardiner was founded 250 years ago where the Cobbossee meets the Kennebec. During the next 100 years, all sorts of industries took root along the banks of Cobbossee Stream…the sounds, sights and smells of that early industrial corridor must have been something to behold. On the hills high above the stream, entrepreneur and workman alike built their houses, great and small, on peaceful, tree-lined streets. Life in the community was good!

The great industries of the Cobbossee are gone…. only the sound of rushing water remains. New entrepreneurs have emerged. But the stable, historic neighborhoods on peaceful tree-lined street survive and thrive. Life in the community is good!