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] {{For|the federal judge|Archibald K. Gardner}}
{{Infobox person
'''Archibald Gardner''' (] — ]) was a 19th century pioneer and businessman who helped establish communities in ], Canada, ] and ], Wyoming. He was also an early leader of ].
| name = Archibald Gardner
| image = Archibald Gardner.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1814|09|02}}
| birth_place = ], Scotland
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1902|02|08|1814|09|02}}
| death_place = ], Utah
| burial_place = ]
| occupation = Mill owner, Utah territorial legislator
| awards =
| spouse =
| children =
| education =
| signature =
| party =
}}
]
'''Archibald Gardner''' (September 2, 1814 &ndash; February 8, 1902) was a 19th-century pioneer and businessman who, with his knowledge of ]- and ], helped establish communities in ]; ]; and ], ]. In his lifetime Archibald built 36 gristmills and lumber mills<ref name="Archibald Gardner - The Miller">{{cite web|last1=Widdison|first1=Lillian Gardner|title=Archibald Gardner - The Miller|url=https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/337775|website=familysearch.org|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref> — 23 in ], 6 in ], 5 in ], and 2 in ] — greatly benefiting the lives of those in the surrounding areas. Archibald also built hundreds of miles of canals to introduce the flow of water to the mills' apparatus.


Gardner was known as a businessman, father, practical engineer, ], polygamist, husband, and ]. In March 1859 he was called as a local leader in ] (LDS Church) lasting for the next 32 years.<ref name="A History of West Jordan">{{cite book|last1=Nolan Duncan, Bernarr Furse, Max Hogan, Glen Moosman|title=A History of West Jordan|publisher=Publisher Press for the City of West Jordan|location=Salt Lake City, Utah|page=24}}</ref> Gardner also served two terms in the House of Representatives of the ] beginning in 1878.
As a businessman, Gardner built 36 mills, 23 in Utah, six in Canada, five in Wyoming, and two in Idaho. ]s often formed the economic center of a community.{{cn}}


==Early life==
== In Alvinston, Ontario ==
Archibald was born on September 2, 1814, in ], Scotland. His father, Robert Gardner, operated Black Bull Inn Tavern and rented Gamill Mill where Archibald was born. Robert Gardner with his wife Margaret Calinder had nine children, five of which survived — William, Mary, Janet, Archibald, and Robert. During the unrest in Scotland, Robert Gardner was thought to be a rebel and thrown in prison. He was later released when no traitorous evidence could be found. Wanting nothing to do with the up rise, Robert Gardner immigrated to ] (near ]) in 1822 with children William and Mary; the next year the rest of the family joined him. At age 17, Archibald built his first mill by following the direction of his father. Six years later Archibald went on his own, moving to Brooke, Kent County, Western District, Canada (later named Alvinston).<ref name="Archibald Gardner His life and his legacy">{{cite book|last1=Long|first1=Nancy|title=Archibald Gardner His life & his legacy|date=1993|publisher=Salt Lake City, Utah|location=West Jordan, Ut: Gardner Historic Village|edition=Second}}</ref>
Alvinston grew up around a ] Gardner built in 1837 on the east end of the sixth concession of Brooke township. Later, Gardner built a sawmill. Interestingly, Archibald Gardner's gristmills were "built without nails. Wooden pins and mortises were used instead. All shafts, bearings, cog wheels, etc. were of wood..."<ref>, by Becky Bartholomew, ''History Blazer'', November 1995, as found May 2, 2007 on "Utah History to Go" section of utah.gov</ref> He dammed the ] to provide power to run two mill stones. Gardner's mill was the only ] within a radius of fifty miles. Often horses were unavailable and oxen could not be readily guided through the thick bush. Consequently, area settlers took their grain, or grist, to the mill in bags strapped to their shoulders, perhaps carrying fifty or more pounds along a blazed trail through swamps and bush. The area, a hill that faces Alvinston, was later called Gardner's Mill. The mill continued to serve the ] district until abandoned in 1874, though flour milling continued in the village until 1926.
In ], he built a ] in 1837 on the east end of the sixth concession of Brooke township. As was common to the technology of the period, Archibald Gardner's gristmills were "built without nails. Wooden pins and mortises were used instead. All shafts, bearings, cog wheels, etc. were of wood..."<ref name= "historytogo">{{citation |title= Gardner Mill and the Birth of Salt Lake Valley's West Side |first= Becky Bartholomew |journal= History Blazer |date=November 1995 |last= Bartholomew }}, as found in an {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923050242/http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/pioneers_and_cowboys/gardnermillandthebirthofthevalleyswestside.html |date=2006-09-23 }} on the "Utah History to Go" section of utah.gov</ref> Gristmills often formed the economic center of a community, producing flour to bake bread. The gristmill area was on a hill that faces Alvinston. The area was called Gardner's Mill for several years. Archibald also built a saw mill in this area to produce shingles.<ref name="Archibald Gardner His life and his legacy" /><ref name="Life of Archibald Gardner" />


On February 18, 1839, Archibald Gardner married Margaret Livingston in Brooke. Archibald Gardner was baptized into the ] in April 1845. Under business pressure and persecution, based on his joining the LDS Church, Gardner sold his Alvinston area mills at a reduced price and sent his family to America. Archibald fled Canada in 1846 after his affairs were in order. He was chased by the local sheriff and posse and forced to cross a dangerous river, St. Clair River by Lake Huron. Knowing his fate if he stayed in Canada, Archibald crossed the cold, icy river resulting in a miraculous escape to the United States.<ref name="Archibald Gardner - The Miller" />
Under pressure from disgruntled business associates, Gardner sold his mill to the Branan family at a reduced price and left Canada for the United States. At one point in his solitary journey Archibald raced across the Detroit River, jumping from one ice patch to the next in an effort to avoid his angry business partners. ] read of Archibald's escape in a Detroit newspaper and used several details in ] to describe a Southern slave escaping to freedom in Canada while being chased by an angry mob. The Detroit newspaper article is on display at a Harriet Beecher Stowe museum in western Ontario, Canada.


== Mormon pioneer == ==Mormon Pioneer==
In St. Louis, Missouri, Archibald met up with his family then traveled to Nauvoo, Illinois, only to find the Latter Day Saints driven out. After replenishing their packs the Gardner family headed to Winter Quarters where Archibald's daughter Janet died (October 10, 1846). Two years before on the same day Archibald's son also named Archibald died of the same illness at the same age.<ref name="Archibald Gardner His life and his legacy" />
=== Early LDS Church membership ===
In 1845, while living in Brooke, Kent, Western District, Canada (near ]), the area that was later named Alvinston, Gardner joined the ]. His mother, father, sister and brothers had already become church members. In 1846 Gardner's family and other church members chopped a road through the bush to the London Road and left their homes and businesses to join the Saints in ]. Archibald and his family arrived in ], Illinois only to find that ] and most of Nauvoo's population had left weeks earlier. Gardner described the city : “There were plenty of homes open to us. We could have brick, frame, log or stone houses without cost. The Saints had nearly all left who were able to go, and their homes were standing empty and unsold. They had been driven out and what could not readily be disposed of was left behind. Some had furniture in‑‑chairs, bedsteads, etc.” After staying three weeks to gain supplies for the longer trip west along the ], Archibald and his family caught up with the main body of the ] in ].
In June 1847 the family started their trek to the Rocky Mountains in Bishop Hunter's Company arriving October 1, 1847. ], at the time a member of the ] also traveled in Archibald's company.<ref name="Life of Archibald Gardner" />


=== Settlement in Utah === ==Life in the West==
===Mills and canals===
On 10 June 1847, Gardner left Winter Quarters for the ] with the 2nd company under the leadership of ]. In a train of 1500 people, Gardner was part of the second 100 wagons under the command of ], and was a Captain of the third ten. He traveled with his wife, children, his father and mother, brothers William and Robert, and their wives and families. Upon arriving, Gardner, and his family members, almost immediately started a temporary mill by disassembling their wagons. Archibald, Robert and William, started a permanent mill at ] in 1848, in time for the fall harvest.
After a season in Warm Springs with a failed attempt to build a sawmill, Archibald moved to ]. In 1848 the family moved the mill to a site on Mill Creek where the water flow was greater,<ref name="Life of Archibald Gardner">{{cite book|last1=Gardner Hughes|first1=Delila|title=Life of Archibald Gardner Utah Pioneer of 1847|date=1939|publisher=Alpine Publishing Co.|location=West Jordan, Utah}}</ref> in time for the fall harvest. There the family claimed to have sawed the first lumber in the ].<ref name="historytogo"/>


Archibald Gardner and his brother Robert planned and began digging a two-and-a-half-mile millrace in West Jordan to provide water power for their Mills. The canal started at Jordan river extending into what is now ].<ref name="Archibald Gardner His life and his legacy" />
=== In West Jordan, Utah ===
The west side of Salt Lake Valley had little water flow forcing settlers to build irrigation systems to grow food.<ref name="A History of West Jordan" />
In 1859 Archibald became Bishop of a ward of about 600 members. He planned the sturdy rock church building. After many difficulties the cornerstone was laid May 15th, 1861. Many men worked for nothing; others were paid with produce. As a religious and community leader Archibald served as Bishop for 32 years. During the 1857-58 ] Archibald was a Captain in the ]. At other times Archibald was a member a group of four Bishops near ] that petitioned Brigham Young, as Governor of the ], for a trading coop in West Jordan, which assisted in creating ].
West Jordan business boomed with the building of its first gristmill completed in 1858, the year before Archibald became bishop of the West Jordan ward.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Carter|first1=Kate B.|title=Heart Throbs of the West: Volume 3|page=264}}</ref> "Gardner Mill inspired a cluster of small industries, including blacksmith shops, logging and hauling operations, woolen and carding mills, a tannery, several stores, a shoe shop, and later a broom factory".<ref name="historytogo"/> In total Archibald, partnering with many others, built 23 mills in Utah, with several of the mills selling its products to ] and ].


=== Business and Public Service === ===The Salt Lake Temple===
The Latter-day Saint ] foundation was laid in 1855. However, cracks and defects in the foundation put the plans to a halt. ], ] and his advisers knew the foundation wouldn't sustain the weight of the temple. President Young seeking revelation said "Here I shall remain until the Lord reveals to me what I should do next", spotting Archibald, Brigham said "Bishop, sit down" telling Archibald of the issue and asking him what could be done. After listening Archibald calmly explained, "the trouble has arisen through the use of too much mortar. This time instead of using mortar, have each and all of the stones in the entire building cut to exact measurement and place stone upon stone with precise fittings. This will prevent cracking, settling or spreading in any way". To this President Brigham Young exclaimed, "Brother Gardner, you are right. That is my revelation". To this day, almost 150 years later, the Salt Lake City, ] still stands. Clarence Gardner, son of Archibald Gardner believes this was a revelation from God, "Because he had spent his life working out problems along practical lines. His past experiences made him equal to the occasion."<ref name="Life of Archibald Gardner" />
As a miner and land developer, Archibald sold several mining properties. The biggest was in ], south of West Jordan, Utah that was found in 1863 while logging with a partner.<ref>http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/o/OQUIRRHMOUNT.html</ref>


===Mining business===
In the 1878 Archibald was elected to a two-year term in the ]. His last term ended in 1882.
In 1863 Archibald Gardner unexpectedly became part of the mining business. While logging for Archibald Gardner, George B. Ogilvie discovered an "attractive piece of ore". He sent it off to General ] at ], the ore was discovered to have traces of silver. Claimants held a meeting and organized the Jordan Silver Mining District on September 17, 1863. Each individual (including Archibald Gardner and Patrick Edward Connor) was given one share except for George B. Ogilvie who was given two shares as the discoverer. Archibald Gardner was elected the first recorder for the district. The Jordan Silver Mining District eventually became the West Mountain Mining District. Today it is known as the ] owned by ].<ref name="A History of West Jordan" />


===As a polygamist===
=== Settlement in Wyoming ===
Archibald became a polygamist in 1849 by the requests of Brigham Young.<ref name="Archibald Gardner His life and his legacy" /> His first wife Margaret Livingston intended to divorce him, believing that polygamy was a sinful act until Brigham Young spoke with her. The last of Archibald's 11 wives was illegal, taking place after the 1862 ]. Due to an unsettled polygamist status after 1882, Archibald was chased by federal agents enforcing anti-polygamy laws. In 1886 he made a trip to California to visit his brother William. On his last trip evading federal agents, Archibald visited Mexico, and his brother Robert in southern Utah. In 1889 Archibald established a home in ] (Star Valley). In ] he built additional mills and lived near and with two wives, Laura Althea Thompson, his fifth wife, and Mary Larson, his 11th wife, and near or with several of his 48 children. When Althea died in Afton in 1899, Archibald buried her in the Salt Lake cemetery's Gardner family plot. Archibald stayed on in Utah building another ] in ]. At 86, Archibald Gardner was taken to ] for an operation on a ]. After the operation he was heard to say, "Here I go to solve the great mystery".<ref name="Archibald Gardner His life and his legacy" /> Archibald Gardner died in the early morning of February 8, 1902, and is buried in the ].
Utah polygamy came under Federal attack in 1882 by the ]. Archibald, having married his 11th wife, Mary Larson in 1869, was forced to leave Utah and spent two months in ]. To avoid arrest by federal officers, Archibald and his 11th wife Mary eventually moved to ], building five more mills. Neil, a son from his first marriage, his wife, and Archibald's fifth wife Althea, joined Archibald there.
<ref name="Archibald Gardner His life and his legacy" />


==Wives of Archibald Gardner==
Archibald lived in Wyoming until 1896, until the death of Althea. Archibald returned to Salt Lake City to bury Althea in the family plot, and remained in the West Jordan area to live with his children from his first wife, although he visited Star Valley as late as 1900. Archibald built his final mill in ] at age 85. Archibald Gardner died in 1902, at age 87, and is buried in the family plot in the ].
From ''Life of Archibald Gardner: Utah Pioneer of 1847''<ref name="Life of Archibald Gardner" />


*Margaret Livingston (1818-1893)
== Plural Marriage and Family ==
*Abigail Sprague Bradford (1813-1879)
In 1849 Archibald Gardner entered into ] at the urging of Brigham Young. With difficulty, he gained approval from his first wife and wed both Abigail Sprague and Mary Ann Bradford on the same day. Brigham Young was interested in assisting Abigail, and her four children, to find a husband after she and Fanny, an Indian girl, had greatly assisted in Native American translations and negotiations allowing the wagon train to safely reach Utah in 1847. The second plural wife was Archibald's original request for his first plural wife, but Brigham Young changed this plan. Fanny remained with Abigail's family and therefore she was also an Archibald Gardner family member. Abigail, Mary Ann, and Fanny are buried in the Archibald Gardner family plot in the ] cemetery.
*Mary Ann Bradford (1831-1867)
*Laura Althea Thompson (1834-1899)
*Elizabeth Lewis Raglin (1832-1879)
*Sarah Jane Park (1834-1916)
*Serena Gahrsen Evensen (1822-1911)
*Harriet Armitage Larter (1830-1866)
*Elizabeth Dowding (1850-1921)
*Mary Larsen (1850-1921)
*Sarah Jane Hamilton (1842-1924) (Divorced in 1861)


Four of Gardner's wives were under 18 at the time he married them. Gardner was 34 years old when he married Mary Ann Bradford, who was then 17. Two years later he married 16-year-old Laura Althea Thompson. He was 42 when he married Sarah Jane Hamilton and 52 when he married Elizabeth Dowding, each of whom was 15 years of age at the time of the wedding.
Archibald's extended families have been graced with several well-known citizens and athletes. Mary Larsen, for example, is the great, great grandmother of ], a Gold Medal Olympic wrestler. In 1990, an Archibald Gardner reunion was held in ], with 5,000 attendees. At that time, Archibald Gardner had 10,000 descendants, with approximately 5,000 from Serena's descendants.


==Legacy==
An earlier book on "The Life of Archibald Gardner" was in great part dictated by Archibald to Delila Hughes, a daughter. Delila's book, and the journals of Archibald, and his equally pioneering brothers, William, and Robert, provide the primary sources of this information.
Archibald Gardner had 11 wives and 48 children. Gardner's life is memorialized by a monument in Afton, Wyoming,<ref>{{citation |url= http://wyoming.untraveledroad.com/Lincoln/Afton/58SSign.htm |title= Archibald Gardiner (Afton Wyoming Monument) |work= UntraveledRoad.com |publisher= UntraveledRoad, LLC }}</ref> and a restored gristmill at Gardner Village. The site where Archibald built his original flour mill in West Jordan, Utah, is now known as ] and features a collection of other early pioneer homes that now house shops and a restaurant dedicated to him called Archibald's Restaurant.<ref>{{citation |last= Wadley |first= Carma |date= 2002-12-01 |title= Gardner Village: One woman's dream now an award-winning country retail outlet |newspaper= ] |page= M01 |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/951480/Gardner-Village.html?pg=all |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131021205906/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/951480/Gardner-Village.html?pg=all |url-status= dead |archive-date= October 21, 2013 |access-date= 2013-02-08 }}</ref>


Leland Mills, one of the last mills Gardner built when he was alive, still operates today in ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leland Roller Mills a part of Spanish Fork history |url=https://www.heraldextra.com/news/2005/sep/29/leland-roller-mills-a-part-of-spanish-fork-history/ |access-date=2023-02-09 |website=heraldextra.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Memorials ==
On August 16, 1946, one of the stones from Gardner's mill and a plaque were erected by Ontario members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, descendants and relatives of Archibald Gardner, and the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmark Association. The stone was contributed by the Brooke and Alvinston Agricultural Society to whom it was presented by Duncan J. McEachren, who provided for its removal from the original mill site on the east bank of the Sydenham River near Alvinston.


] ] gold medalist ] is the great-great-grandson of Archibald Gardner.<ref>{{cite book |title= Never Stop Pushing |last= Gardner |first= Rulon |author2=Bob Schaller |year= 2005 |publisher= ] |location= New York |isbn= 0-7867-1593-6 |page= 43 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BLGRGpVcevwC |access-date= 2011-01-31}}</ref>
In 1990, a monument to Archibald Gardner was erected in the town of Afton, Wyoming. The text of that monument says in part:
A new headstone was dedicated for Archibald Gardner after a 1990 Afton, Wyoming, family reunion when 2,000 of his 20,000 descendants attended.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Archibald Gardner Reunion Committee|title=Archibald Gardner Reunion And Monument Dedication Program|url=https://archive.org/details/ArchibaldGardnerReunionAndMonumentDedicationProgram|website=archive.org|date=21 July 1990 |access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref>
:Noble, Generous, Kind and True to All
:Pioneer of 1847
:Born at Kilsythe, Scotland Sept. 2, 1814
:Died in Salt Lake City, UT Feb 8, 1902
:This monument has been erected as a tribute to him in remembrance of his accomplishments as a mill builder and his lifelong dedication to helping people. He arrived in Afton in October 1889. By December he was producing flour and lumber which were badly needed by the early settlers. The water powered mills were built at the mouth of Swift Creek Canyon. His foresight helped save the settlers from starvation the following winter. This monument is not just for his work in Star Valley. He was known as the pioneer builder of the west, having built over 35 mills, many canals and bridges. He faithfully served his family, church, community and country his entire life.

==Notes==
<div class="references-small" >
<references/>
</div>


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
* Bartholomew, Becky. . ''History Blazer'', November 1995.

* Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. "Archibald Gardner, the Miller." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 3, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1948.
==Further reading==
* Carter, Kate B. and ]. "Archibald Gardner, the Miller." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 3, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1948.
* Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. "Journal and Diary of Robert Gardner." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 10, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1951. * Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. "Journal and Diary of Robert Gardner." Heartthrobs of the West, vol. 10, Salt Lake City, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1951.
* . ''Deseret News'', 1867-08-14.
* Carter, Kate B. and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. ''Treasures of Pioneer History.'' Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1952.
* Furse, B. S., editor. ''A History of West Jordan.'' Salt Lake City, City of West Jordan, 1995.
* . ''Deseret News'', ].
* Hughes, Delilah Gardner ''Life of Archibald Gardner.'' American Fork, Alpine Publishing Company, 1939
* Furse, B. S., editor. '''A History of West Jordan.'' Salt Lake City, City of West Jordan, 1995.
* {{citation|url=https://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5406 |title=The Miller, the Bishop, and the "Move South" |author-link=William G. Hartley |first=William G. |last=Hartley |journal=] |volume=20 |issue=1 |date=Fall 1979 |pages=99–105 |publisher=] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021192803/https://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5406 |archive-date=2013-10-21 }} — covers West Jordan Mill activities in 1858
* Hughes, Delia G. ''Life of Archibald Gardner.'' American Fork, Alpine Publishing Company, 1939.
* Warrum, Noble; Morse, Charles W.; and Ewing, W. Brown. ''Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical.'' The S. J. Clarke publishing company, 1920.


== External links == ==External links==
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* - Family Information
* - Picture of Gardner Mill in West Jordan * — Picture of Gardner Mill in West Jordan
* — Genealogy and Family info
* of Archibald Gardner
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008085530/http://www.sprague-database.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I83038&tree=SpragueProject |date=2007-10-08 }} — Family Information
*
* {{Find a Grave|5135285}} — including gravestones and obituary
* —includes photos of Robert and Archibald's birth-home in Scotland and a map of Robert's land grant in Canada where Archibald grew up
* , at ], ]
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Latest revision as of 22:20, 7 November 2024

For the federal judge, see Archibald K. Gardner.
Archibald Gardner
Born(1814-09-02)September 2, 1814
Kilsyth, Scotland
DiedFebruary 8, 1902(1902-02-08) (aged 87)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Burial placeSalt Lake City Cemetery
Occupation(s)Mill owner, Utah territorial legislator
A 4-generation photograph of Neil Gardner, Vernon Neil Gardner, Neil Livingston Gardner, and Archibald Gardner

Archibald Gardner (September 2, 1814 – February 8, 1902) was a 19th-century pioneer and businessman who, with his knowledge of lumber- and grist mills, helped establish communities in Alvinston, Ontario; West Jordan, Utah; and Star Valley, Wyoming. In his lifetime Archibald built 36 gristmills and lumber mills — 23 in Utah, 6 in Canada, 5 in Wyoming, and 2 in Idaho — greatly benefiting the lives of those in the surrounding areas. Archibald also built hundreds of miles of canals to introduce the flow of water to the mills' apparatus.

Gardner was known as a businessman, father, practical engineer, millwright, polygamist, husband, and Bishop. In March 1859 he was called as a local leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) lasting for the next 32 years. Gardner also served two terms in the House of Representatives of the Utah territorial legislature beginning in 1878.

Early life

Archibald was born on September 2, 1814, in Kilsyth, Scotland. His father, Robert Gardner, operated Black Bull Inn Tavern and rented Gamill Mill where Archibald was born. Robert Gardner with his wife Margaret Calinder had nine children, five of which survived — William, Mary, Janet, Archibald, and Robert. During the unrest in Scotland, Robert Gardner was thought to be a rebel and thrown in prison. He was later released when no traitorous evidence could be found. Wanting nothing to do with the up rise, Robert Gardner immigrated to Upper Canada (near Port Dalhousie) in 1822 with children William and Mary; the next year the rest of the family joined him. At age 17, Archibald built his first mill by following the direction of his father. Six years later Archibald went on his own, moving to Brooke, Kent County, Western District, Canada (later named Alvinston). In Alvinston, Ontario, he built a gristmill in 1837 on the east end of the sixth concession of Brooke township. As was common to the technology of the period, Archibald Gardner's gristmills were "built without nails. Wooden pins and mortises were used instead. All shafts, bearings, cog wheels, etc. were of wood..." Gristmills often formed the economic center of a community, producing flour to bake bread. The gristmill area was on a hill that faces Alvinston. The area was called Gardner's Mill for several years. Archibald also built a saw mill in this area to produce shingles.

On February 18, 1839, Archibald Gardner married Margaret Livingston in Brooke. Archibald Gardner was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in April 1845. Under business pressure and persecution, based on his joining the LDS Church, Gardner sold his Alvinston area mills at a reduced price and sent his family to America. Archibald fled Canada in 1846 after his affairs were in order. He was chased by the local sheriff and posse and forced to cross a dangerous river, St. Clair River by Lake Huron. Knowing his fate if he stayed in Canada, Archibald crossed the cold, icy river resulting in a miraculous escape to the United States.

Mormon Pioneer

In St. Louis, Missouri, Archibald met up with his family then traveled to Nauvoo, Illinois, only to find the Latter Day Saints driven out. After replenishing their packs the Gardner family headed to Winter Quarters where Archibald's daughter Janet died (October 10, 1846). Two years before on the same day Archibald's son also named Archibald died of the same illness at the same age.

In June 1847 the family started their trek to the Rocky Mountains in Bishop Hunter's Company arriving October 1, 1847. John Taylor, at the time a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also traveled in Archibald's company.

Life in the West

Mills and canals

After a season in Warm Springs with a failed attempt to build a sawmill, Archibald moved to Millcreek. In 1848 the family moved the mill to a site on Mill Creek where the water flow was greater, in time for the fall harvest. There the family claimed to have sawed the first lumber in the Salt Lake Valley.

Archibald Gardner and his brother Robert planned and began digging a two-and-a-half-mile millrace in West Jordan to provide water power for their Mills. The canal started at Jordan river extending into what is now Taylorsville. The west side of Salt Lake Valley had little water flow forcing settlers to build irrigation systems to grow food. West Jordan business boomed with the building of its first gristmill completed in 1858, the year before Archibald became bishop of the West Jordan ward. "Gardner Mill inspired a cluster of small industries, including blacksmith shops, logging and hauling operations, woolen and carding mills, a tannery, several stores, a shoe shop, and later a broom factory". In total Archibald, partnering with many others, built 23 mills in Utah, with several of the mills selling its products to Camp Floyd and Fort Douglas.

The Salt Lake Temple

The Latter-day Saint Salt Lake Temple foundation was laid in 1855. However, cracks and defects in the foundation put the plans to a halt. The President of the Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young and his advisers knew the foundation wouldn't sustain the weight of the temple. President Young seeking revelation said "Here I shall remain until the Lord reveals to me what I should do next", spotting Archibald, Brigham said "Bishop, sit down" telling Archibald of the issue and asking him what could be done. After listening Archibald calmly explained, "the trouble has arisen through the use of too much mortar. This time instead of using mortar, have each and all of the stones in the entire building cut to exact measurement and place stone upon stone with precise fittings. This will prevent cracking, settling or spreading in any way". To this President Brigham Young exclaimed, "Brother Gardner, you are right. That is my revelation". To this day, almost 150 years later, the Salt Lake City, LDS temple still stands. Clarence Gardner, son of Archibald Gardner believes this was a revelation from God, "Because he had spent his life working out problems along practical lines. His past experiences made him equal to the occasion."

Mining business

In 1863 Archibald Gardner unexpectedly became part of the mining business. While logging for Archibald Gardner, George B. Ogilvie discovered an "attractive piece of ore". He sent it off to General Patrick Edward Connor at Fort Douglas, the ore was discovered to have traces of silver. Claimants held a meeting and organized the Jordan Silver Mining District on September 17, 1863. Each individual (including Archibald Gardner and Patrick Edward Connor) was given one share except for George B. Ogilvie who was given two shares as the discoverer. Archibald Gardner was elected the first recorder for the district. The Jordan Silver Mining District eventually became the West Mountain Mining District. Today it is known as the Bingham Copper Mine owned by Kennecott.

As a polygamist

Archibald became a polygamist in 1849 by the requests of Brigham Young. His first wife Margaret Livingston intended to divorce him, believing that polygamy was a sinful act until Brigham Young spoke with her. The last of Archibald's 11 wives was illegal, taking place after the 1862 Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act. Due to an unsettled polygamist status after 1882, Archibald was chased by federal agents enforcing anti-polygamy laws. In 1886 he made a trip to California to visit his brother William. On his last trip evading federal agents, Archibald visited Mexico, and his brother Robert in southern Utah. In 1889 Archibald established a home in Afton, Wyoming (Star Valley). In Star Valley he built additional mills and lived near and with two wives, Laura Althea Thompson, his fifth wife, and Mary Larson, his 11th wife, and near or with several of his 48 children. When Althea died in Afton in 1899, Archibald buried her in the Salt Lake cemetery's Gardner family plot. Archibald stayed on in Utah building another gristmill in Spanish Fork. At 86, Archibald Gardner was taken to St. Mark's Hospital for an operation on a strangulated hernia. After the operation he was heard to say, "Here I go to solve the great mystery". Archibald Gardner died in the early morning of February 8, 1902, and is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Wives of Archibald Gardner

From Life of Archibald Gardner: Utah Pioneer of 1847

  • Margaret Livingston (1818-1893)
  • Abigail Sprague Bradford (1813-1879)
  • Mary Ann Bradford (1831-1867)
  • Laura Althea Thompson (1834-1899)
  • Elizabeth Lewis Raglin (1832-1879)
  • Sarah Jane Park (1834-1916)
  • Serena Gahrsen Evensen (1822-1911)
  • Harriet Armitage Larter (1830-1866)
  • Elizabeth Dowding (1850-1921)
  • Mary Larsen (1850-1921)
  • Sarah Jane Hamilton (1842-1924) (Divorced in 1861)

Four of Gardner's wives were under 18 at the time he married them. Gardner was 34 years old when he married Mary Ann Bradford, who was then 17. Two years later he married 16-year-old Laura Althea Thompson. He was 42 when he married Sarah Jane Hamilton and 52 when he married Elizabeth Dowding, each of whom was 15 years of age at the time of the wedding.

Legacy

Archibald Gardner had 11 wives and 48 children. Gardner's life is memorialized by a monument in Afton, Wyoming, and a restored gristmill at Gardner Village. The site where Archibald built his original flour mill in West Jordan, Utah, is now known as Gardner Village and features a collection of other early pioneer homes that now house shops and a restaurant dedicated to him called Archibald's Restaurant.

Leland Mills, one of the last mills Gardner built when he was alive, still operates today in Spanish Fork, Utah.

Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling gold medalist Rulon Gardner is the great-great-grandson of Archibald Gardner. A new headstone was dedicated for Archibald Gardner after a 1990 Afton, Wyoming, family reunion when 2,000 of his 20,000 descendants attended.

References

  1. ^ Widdison, Lillian Gardner. "Archibald Gardner - The Miller". familysearch.org. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  2. ^ Nolan Duncan, Bernarr Furse, Max Hogan, Glen Moosman. A History of West Jordan. Salt Lake City, Utah: Publisher Press for the City of West Jordan. p. 24.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Long, Nancy (1993). Archibald Gardner His life & his legacy (Second ed.). West Jordan, Ut: Gardner Historic Village: Salt Lake City, Utah.
  4. ^ Bartholomew, Becky Bartholomew (November 1995), "Gardner Mill and the Birth of Salt Lake Valley's West Side", History Blazer, as found in an online reprint Archived 2006-09-23 at the Wayback Machine on the "Utah History to Go" section of utah.gov
  5. ^ Gardner Hughes, Delila (1939). Life of Archibald Gardner Utah Pioneer of 1847. West Jordan, Utah: Alpine Publishing Co.
  6. Carter, Kate B. Heart Throbs of the West: Volume 3. p. 264.
  7. "Archibald Gardiner (Afton Wyoming Monument)", UntraveledRoad.com, UntraveledRoad, LLC
  8. Wadley, Carma (2002-12-01), "Gardner Village: One woman's dream now an award-winning country retail outlet", Deseret News, p. M01, archived from the original on October 21, 2013, retrieved 2013-02-08
  9. "Leland Roller Mills a part of Spanish Fork history". heraldextra.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  10. Gardner, Rulon; Bob Schaller (2005). Never Stop Pushing. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. p. 43. ISBN 0-7867-1593-6. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  11. "Archibald Gardner Reunion And Monument Dedication Program". archive.org. Archibald Gardner Reunion Committee. 21 July 1990. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

Further reading

External links

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