“Chair City” has a bustling downtown and ample green space
Dubbed “Chair City” for its mid-1800s furniture industry, Gardner is a Worcester County city preserving history and exuding small-town charm. A 20-foot-tall chair on Elm Street commemorates this nickname, and the Gardner Museum has exhibits detailing prominent manufacturers and designers. Red-brick Italianate-style restaurants and retailers line Main Street, which hosts numerous community events, like an art fair or Memorial Day Parade. “People from surrounding small towns come to Gardner for grocery shopping and a wider variety of restaurants,” says Kerryann Murphy, a real estate agent with Lamacchia Realty, who has sold several homes in the area. “The downtown area has much more to do than nearby Templeton or Hubbardston.” Locals can also easily access numerous recreational hubs, like the North Central Pathway around Crystal Lake or the wooden docks dotting the pond at Dunn State Park.
Gardner Public Schools, a private option and higher education at Mount Wachusett Community College
The town center’s sidewalk-lined streets brim with side-by-side multi-family properties built throughout the early 1900s. Brick builds can have up to six units and duplex options are available in Queen Anne-style dwellings. Farther from Main Street, four-bedroom vinyl-façade ranch styles and split levels sit on unfenced half-acre lots backing up to dense pine tree forests. Winding, asphalt driveways lead to two-car garages outside New Traditional Colonial Revivals built within the last decade. Buying here can cost between $450,000 and $650,000, a range similar to a Worcester County home’s average $450,000 selling price.
A colonial manor with antique charm, in Gardner.
A large colonial manor signature to rural Massachusetts architecture.
Colonial ranches are quite common in Gardner.
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Gardner Public Schools, a private option and higher education at Mount Wachusett Community College
Children here can go to Gardner Elementary, which opened in 2023 and has yet to be graded by Niche. Then, they may continue to C-graded Gardner Middle and C-plus-rated Gardner High, where the Innovations Pathway Program offers college-level coursework in career fields like finance, manufacturing and healthcare. Holy Family Academy is a private option in the area, and it has served prekindergarten through eighth grade since 1903. Those seeking a higher education will find over 70 degree and certification programs at Mount Wachusett Community College, where nonstudents can join the school's recreation center or watch one of the theater department's productions.
Gardner High School has 740 students in grades 8-12.
Eclectic eateries on Main Street, several grocery options and Heywood Hospital convenience
Gardner’s Main Street is lined with locally owned restaurants and retailers. Residents can grab homemade fudge from Priscilla Candy Shop and buy a new baseball mitt from John’s Sport Shop. Retro bar stools and a jukebox fill the Blue Moon Diner, a breakfast and lunch hub in a renovated train car, here since 1959. Known locally as Gardner Ale House, Moon Hill Brewing Company is a rustic venue with 15 beers on tap, Monday afternoon oyster tastings and live jazz music during Sunday brunch. The town has regional grocery chains like Hannaford and Price Chopper, as well as nationally known options like Walmart Supercenter and Aldi. Employing over 1,000 people, Heywood Hospital is located along Green Street. “Heywood is the only hospital for about 20 miles, so it's very convenient to be near,” says Murphy.
Gardner residents love classic American food from The Blue Moon Diner.
John's Sports Store is a multi-generational family business. Stop by and have a look around.
Hannaford is the go to grocery store for Gardner Residents.
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A Food Truck Festival and Christmas tree decorating competition in Gardner
Residents can enjoy numerous community events, like the Food Truck Festival outside City Hall every June or the weekly toddler story times at the Levi Heywood Memorial Library. Main Street shuts down for the Memorial Day Parade and when local artists showcase their work at the Conceptual Forefront Art Festival during the first weekend of May. The Gardner Museum hosts the Festival of Trees, where residents decorate themed Christmas trees and vote for their favorite.
Hiking around Crystal Lake, fishing at Perley Brook or swimming at Dunn State Park
As the town’s water reservoir, Crystal Lake is not cleared for swimming, fishing or boating. However, a portion of the 16-mile North Central Pathway overlooks the waterway, offering hikers and bikers a scenic nature trail also surrounded by pollinator gardens and birdhouses built by local Girl Scout troops. The Gardner Municipal Golf Course’s back nine holes encompass the lake, while the front nine spans a hilly, bent grass fairway. Permitted anglers can fish for trout from the grassy shoreline around the Perley Brook Reservoir, while beachgoers and kayakers flock to the 30-acre pond at Dunn State Park throughout the summer. The all-wood, castle-themed Ovila Case Playground fills with children every Saturday night while their siblings hit home runs on the lighted baseball diamond. The Gardner Veterans Arena has public ice skating sessions every day at 2, and Ten Pins has glow-in-the-dark bowling on Saturday nights. A winter day trip is less than 10 miles away at the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area.
A view from above Crystal Lake in Gardner.
Crystal Lake Park is a great place to take in a view of the lake.
The view from the battery at Monument Park.
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Gardner is near numerous New England cities
Massachusetts Route 2 spans Gardner’s southern region, making Boston less than 70 miles east. Just 40 miles north, Worcester and the Worcester Regional Airport are even closer via the same highway. “Of course, Worcester and Boston are close, but you’re also about an hour and a half from Hartford and Providence,” says Murphy. A few Montachusett Regional Transit Authority bus stops are sprinkled across town, offering rides to nearby towns like Winchendon or Athol.
Residents of Gardner have access to the MART transit system.
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