Gardiner is on the north bank of the Umpqua River near its mouth. It is a historic community of Oregon and bears the name of a Boston merchant who sought to trade on the river. His vessel, Bostonian, was wrecked at the mouth of the Umpqua on October 1, 1850. Most of the goods on the vessel were saved and moved to the location of what was subsequently the town of Gardiner. The place became the headquarters of the Umpqua customs district in 1851, with Colin Wilson as collector. See advertisement in the Oregonian, December 6, 1851. The community is described in the Oregonian for June 23, 1855. The post office of Gardiners City was established on June 30, 1851, with Geo. L. Snelling first postmaster. The form Gardiner City was used on October 20, 1853, which was the date that Harrison Spicer became postmaster. The official name is now Gardiner.