District No. 9 Schoolhouse · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0

History · Gilford

Gilford dates to 1812, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #91 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

Most of Gilford was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1820.

1812founded

4on the National Register

8%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Gilford’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Gilford began

When was Gilford founded?

1812

Gilford dates its founding to 1812 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 1,816 in 18202020 census: 7,699214 years

How historic is Gilford?

B⁺

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Gilford’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gilford is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #91 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gilford’s overall grade.

Founding era1812, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 19407.5% of homes (±2.2) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%C⁺National Register4 listings, 11 historic buildings, 14.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4B⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 67%

NewerOlder

New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 28%

New Hampshire towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Hampshire town has 9.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Gilford’s 14.0 sits near the middle of its state (54% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1812.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Gilford’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew more than tenfold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gilford, and 7 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19093 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1987. Watch Gilford change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gilford’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewEllacoya State Park: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Gilford, census by census

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew more than tenfold.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Gilford had its own post office from 1824 to 1855. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gilford

1824–1855

Guilford

1824–1855

Glendale

1897–1902

Gilford

1899–1902

18201920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

AmesDockham ShoreGlendaleLake Shore ParkSamosetThe LedgesYale Estates

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gilford

McCoyPine Grove

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Gilford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gilford.

Read it all →

Settled in 1778 and originally a part of Gilmanton, the town was first called Gunstock Parish. In 1812, Captain Lemuel B. Mason, who had fought in the 1781 Battle of Guilford Court House in North Carolina during the Revolutionary War and subsequently retired to Gunstock Parish, successfully proposed incorporation of a new town to be named Guilford after that battle. The name would later be contracted by clerical error. The original parish name is used by Gunstock Mountain and the ski resort located on it.

Gilford was the destination of the first "snow train" from Boston in the 1930s. It also had New Hampshire’s first motorized ski lift, a gasoline-powered rope tow built in 1934 at what is now Gunstock Mountain Resort.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Gilford in 1845

Passages that mention Gilford, cut from the printed page as they were published.

ihe Jirst saw mill, and on the other, ]Mill Brook, ihe Jirst grist mill in the town, were erected, dischaige their waters into the Suncook River. Miles and Gunslock Brooks, in the part now called Gilford, furnisli also valuable mill privileges. The one at Gilford Village is a place of considerable … — **The history of Gilmanton**1845 · page 16Read the page →
Read the text
ihe Jirst saw mill, and on the other, ]Mill Brook, ihe Jirst grist mill in the town, were erected, dischaige their waters into the Suncook River. Miles and Gunslock Brooks, in the part now called Gilford, furnisli also valuable mill privileges. The one at Gilford Village is a place of considerable business. Proprietary History.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

**The history of Gilmanton**1845 · page 139Read the page →
Read the text
Gilford Village contains besides the Mills, two Meeting Houses, one or two stores, a post office, and several dwelling houses. Town Officers.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Gilford, 1812 to 2020

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

19th century
1812
FoundingGilford is established
1815BuiltDistrict No. 9 Schoolhouse is built
1824Post officeThe Gilford post office opens
1824Post officeThe Guilford post office opens
1855Post officeThe Gilford post office closes
1855Post officeThe Guilford post office closes
1897Post officeThe Glendale post office opens
20th century
1902Post officeThe Glendale post office closes
1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1991Born hereMegan Lyman is born here
1998In the archiveEllacoya State Park
21st century
2020CensusPopulation peaks at 7,314

By decade

Gilford, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item

1998Ellacoya State Park

Today10 recent

2018BelknapMtnsfromSouth

2015Trees

2014GilfordNH MtBelknapGrange

2014GilfordNH District9Schoolhouse

2010Winnipesaukee Ice

2010Benjamin Rowe House

2008Gilford, New Hampshire - Sawyer's Dairy Bar

2007Wienermobile-Bologna

2007Bologna license plate

2001Gilford NH A view from our hotel

On the map

Gilford on the map, 1909 to 1987

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

1909Winnipesaukee 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 Gilford.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Gilford

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1980

John J. Morrill Store

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1

Medieval Castle1

John J. Morrill StoreGreek Revival

Kimball CastleMedieval Castle

District No. 9 SchoolhouseBuilt 1815

Benjamin Rowe HouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Meredith2 historic placesA⁻Alton5 historic placesA⁻Laconia14 historic placesB⁺Belmont2 historic placesC Gilmanton5 historic placesA⁻

Questions about Gilford’s history

What year was Gilford founded?

In 1812, according to Wikidata. Gilford’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1820 counted 1,816 people here.

How does Gilford rank for history?

Gilford is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #91 of 126 in New Hampshire. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Gilford?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the John J. Morrill Store (listed 1980, the first). 11 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Gilford?

8% of Gilford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1983.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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