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History · Gorham

Gorham’s post office opened in 1879, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1950.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gorham began

When was Gorham founded?

1879

The Gorham post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1886.

First census: 375 in 19502020 census: 376147 years
Founding year: the first Gorham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1886.The full story ↓

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 history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Gorham are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18963 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Gorham change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gorham’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gorham’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Gorham on the map, 1896 to 1985

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 1896 USGS mapGorham on the 1967 USGS mapGorham on the 1985 USGS map1896Hays sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Gorham came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gorham.

Read it all →

Beaten to the settlement of Wilson, Kansas by Bohemian colonists, Pennsylvania Dutch settlers from Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pennsylvania established a community on the Kansas Pacific Railway at the future site of Gorham in April 1872. Elijah Dodge Gorham, a settler from Illinois, gave the town its name when he platted it in 1879. Seeking to create a local trading center, he formally established the town in July 1886, gave land for a Catholic Church and cemetery, and started several businesses including a general store, grain elevator, post office, lumberyard, and a coal yard. Additional grain elevators and a stockyard subsequently opened, establishing Gorham as a farming community.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Gorham, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Detailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapKSMap-doton-Gorham2005KSMap-doton-Gorham
People over time

Gorham, census by census

01002003004001960198020002020Peak: 429

Between 284 and 429 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Gorham

Nobody well known was born in Gorham itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Bob DoleAmerican politician · b. 1923
John L. Allen Jr.American journalist and writer · b. 1965
Marj DusayAmerican actress · b. 1936
Ron BakerAmerican basketball player · b. 1993
J
Jeff ColyerAmerican politician in Kansas · b. 1960
P
Philip AnschutzAmerican billionaire businessman · b. 1939

Questions about Gorham’s history

What year was Gorham founded?

The Gorham post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1886.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.