Gardner: Free-State Town
Gardner is a curious spot on Johnson County’s predominantly proslavery 1850s landscape. Officially founded in 1857 when the county’s boundaries were established, the reasonably-sized town was settled primarily by families from the eastern states. The founders named the town for the Governor of Massachusetts, suggesting ties to the Abolitionist New England Emigrant Aid Society which had sent thousands of settlers to Kansas Territory. Perhaps the residents kept their politics to themselves, as Gardner was never raided during the 1850s border wars. Border ruffians mainly targeted towns such as Lawrence, associated with the Emigrant Aid Society. Gardner was not attacked until the Civil War began in 1861, during which it was raided three times. These disturbances were likely retaliations for the citizens’ overwhelmingly negative response to the proslavery Lecompton Constitution in the 1857 election. Only three votes were cast in favor of the Lecompton government; 100 voted against it.
The chaos of the territorial period is captured in a letter written to Gardner resident, Benjamin Francis, in 1857. Francis’ mother wrote to him from Maryland, trying to clear-up the confusion about Kansas’ border wars. (The original grammar and punctuation have been retained in this quote.)
Please, never give up the ship while there is any hope now I want some information about affairs in Kansas is it the free state men that have made that constitution a few of them thinking to rule the territory without the voice of the people—or is it the proslavery men, I cant find out by asking here or by the papers—your Father is a pro-slavery democrat he says it is the abolishionist, Aunt Sarah is an abolishionist so she says it is the proslavery men she believes everything old Horace Grealey says to the law and Gospel—Well I believe him to be a miserable old scoundrel, that would be ______ to get the people all at war with each other, for his own selfish purposes…--ALBUM vol. 11, no. 4 (fall 1998)
