Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Gorham

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Gorham

Gorham’s post office opened in 1912, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1910.

1912first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
24old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gorham’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gorham began

When was Gorham founded?

1912

The Gorham post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 392 in 19102020 census: 173114 years
Founding year: the first Gorham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gorham’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos24 old photos, postcards and papers, 1927–1989.Boom and bustPeaked at 595 in 1940; 173 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Gorham’s homes were built before 1955.On the map since 19244 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1990. Watch Gorham change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Gorham, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s5 items
Repairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Illinois1927Repairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, IllinoisRepairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Ill1927Repairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, IllRepairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Ill1927Repairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, IllRepairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Ill1927Repairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, IllBrunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Ill., levee around sandboil1927Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Ill., levee around s…
1950s–1980s19 items
Gorham after 1957 tornado1957Gorham after 1957 tornado5-Pack Articulated Container Cars19895-Pack Articulated Container CarsAirslide Hopper, DRGW1989Airslide Hopper, DRGWGorham, IL, Rio Grande Train1989Gorham, IL, Rio Grande TrainMopac Flatcar1989Mopac FlatcarSouthern Pacific SP 4814 (GP38-2)1989Southern Pacific SP 4814 (GP38-2)Southern Pacific SP 5103 (B23-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 5103 (B23-7)Southern Pacific SP 6551 (GP35)1989Southern Pacific SP 6551 (GP35)Southern Pacific SP 6650 (GP35)1989Southern Pacific SP 6650 (GP35)Southern Pacific SP 7313 (SD40)1989Southern Pacific SP 7313 (SD40)Southern Pacific SP 7470 (SD45-2)1989Southern Pacific SP 7470 (SD45-2)Southern Pacific SP 7544 (SD45-2)1989Southern Pacific SP 7544 (SD45-2)Southern Pacific SP 7759 (B36-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7759 (B36-7)Southern Pacific SP 7802 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7802 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 7814 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7814 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 7822 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7822 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 7830 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7830 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 7842 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7842 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 7844 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7844 (B30-7)
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
People over time

Gorham, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 595

Peaked at 595 in 1940; 173 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gorham’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Gorham, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gorham yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Gorham is a village in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 173 at the 2020 census. It is known locally for its near-annihilation during the deadly 1925 Tri-State tornado.

Its first post office opened in 1912. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 236 to 173 (-27%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Gorham, 1912 to 1989

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1912Post officeThe Gorham post office opens
  3. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1927In the archiveRepairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Illinois
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 595
  6. 1957In the archiveGorham after 1957 tornado
  7. 1989In the archive5-Pack Articulated Container Cars
On the map

Gorham on the map, 1924 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gorham. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Gorham on the 1924 USGS mapGorham on the 1947 USGS mapGorham on the 1978 USGS mapGorham on the 1990 USGS map1924Alto Pass sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gorham.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Repairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Illinois
Retake this viewRepairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Illinois, 1927

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Gorham’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Gorham’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRepairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorh…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sand Ridge TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFountain Bluff TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Gorham’s history

What year was Gorham founded?

The Gorham post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (19), the Library of Congress (5), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.