Gardiner Elementary

Gardiner started out as a small two room school called Levy Street School in 1912.  It sat on the corner of Levy and Ida.  

In 1924, the school board decided to build a new building on the site.  

The Wichita architecture firm of Schmidt, Overend and Boucher was hired to design the new school. They also designed Kellogg, Stanley and Meridian Elementary schools.

The new school opened in September of 1924. The building was remodeled or added on in 1948, 1951, 1984, and 2000.

The school’s name was changed in March of 1925, to Laura V. Gardiner Elementary School in honor of Laura Gardiner, one of the first women to be elected to the Wichita Board of Education. 

Gardiner was born Laura V. Pope on July 11, 1853 in Kane, Illinois,  I couldn’t find a date, but Laura married George Gardiner who was from Garden Plain.  They moved to Wichita at some point.  The couple had four children.

Mr. Gardiner died in 1888 at the age of 37. Mrs. Gardiner lived to be 67, passing away on August 25, 1920.  Laura and her husband are buried in Kane, Illinois.