Gorham is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Coös County,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States. The population was 2,698 at the 2020 census. Gorham is located in the White Mountains, and parts of the

White Mountain National Forest The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had alre ...

are in the south and northwest. Moose Brook State Park is in the west. Tourism is a principal business. It is part of the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, NH-VT Micropolitan Statistical Area. The central village in Gorham, where 1,851 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Gorham census-designated place and is located between the two intersections of

US 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. ...

and NH 16, along the

Androscoggin River The Androscoggin River (Abenaki: ''Ammoscongon'') is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data''The National Map'', a ...

History

The community was first chartered in 1770 by colonial Governor John Wentworth as a part of Shelburne, called "Shelburne Addition". Gorham was first settled about 1802, by Robert Sargent and others, but for years it contained little more than rocky farms, small

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksGorham, Maine Gorham is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,336 at the 2020 United States Census. In addition to its urban village center known as Gorham (CDP), Maine, Gorham Village or simply "the Villag ...

, and a relative of the Gorham family which incorporated that town in 1764. The

St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad , known as St-Laurent et Atlantique Quebec in Canada, is a short-line railway operating between Portland, Maine, on the Atlantic Ocean, and Montreal, Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River. It crosses the Ca ...

(later the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

) arrived in 1851. Located halfway between

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and the New England seacoast, Gorham developed into a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

town, with a major

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

yard and repair facility. With trains came tourists, and the Mount Madison House, Alpine House, Gorham House and Willis House opened. Crowds went from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and the seacoast to White Mountain Station, and from there to the Glen House in

Pinkham Notch Pinkham Notch (elevation 2032 ft. / 619 m) is a mountain pass in the White Mountains of north-central New Hampshire, United States. The notch is a result of extensive erosion by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Wisconsinian ice age. P ...

and

Mount Washington Mount Washington is an ultra-prominent mountain in the state of New Hampshire. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorio ...

. In 1861, travelers made the first trek up the Mount Washington Carriage Road, winding to the summit of the mountain. "The Road to the Sky" was an engineering feat of its day, advertised as "the first man-made attraction in the United States". It would be renamed the

Mount Washington Auto Road The Mount Washington Auto Road—originally the Mount Washington Carriage Road—is a private toll road in southern Coos County, New Hampshire that extends from New Hampshire Route 16 in Green's Grant, just north of Pinkham Notch, westward a ...

, and remains popular today. GorhamNHView

Railroads benefited local industries as well, hauling freight for mills run by

water power Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kin ...

from the

. Logging flourished, with boards and building timber manufactured by the Libby and the Peabody lumber companies. That business would eventually decline, as would railroads. In 1973, the town's

train depot A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one railwa ...

, built in 1907, was scheduled for demolition. The Gorham Historical Society saved the building, which now serves as a headquarters and museum. It features displays on area history, with a collection including locomotives,

boxcars A boxcar is the North American (AAR) and South Australian Railways term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatil ...

and a

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting; as well as in keeping a lookout for load ...

. Image:Gorham, N.H., from the Alpine House, by Bierstadt Brothers.jpg, Stereoscopic photograph Image:Panoramic View in 1888, Gorham, NH.jpg, View in 1888 Image:Exchange Street in Gorham, NH.jpg, Exchange Street in 1908 Image:The Mt. Madison House, Gorham, NH.jpg, The Mount Madison House Image:View from Mt. Madison House, Gorham, NH.jpg, View from Mount Madison House Image:Main Street Looking West, Gorham, NH.jpg, Main Street

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 1.50% of the town. Gorham is drained by the

and its tributaries, the Peabody and

Moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

rivers, and the smaller Moose Brook. Gorham lies fully within the Androscoggin River

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

. Gorham is bordered to the north by

, northeast by

Success Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person mi ...

, east by Shelburne, west by

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated com ...

, southwest by Thompson and Meserve's Purchase, south by Martin's Location, and southeast by Bean's Purchase. The highest point in Gorham is along its western border, on a spur of

Mount Madison Mount Madison is a mountain in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire in the United States. It is named after the fourth U.S. President, James Madison. Mountains in the Presidential Range are named for U.S. presidents, with the tallest (Mou ...

, where the elevation reaches above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. While Gorham itself is surrounded by larger mountains, a small prominent peak within the town is high Pine Mountain.

New Hampshire Route 16 New Hampshire Route 16 (NH 16) is a , north–south State highway#United States, state highway in New Hampshire, United States, the main road connecting the Seacoast Region (New Hampshire), Seacoast region to the Lakes Region (New Hampshire), L ...

and

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...

run directly through the center of Gorham. Route 16 leads south through

and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

to North Conway, and north into the city of Berlin. Route 2 leads east through Shelburne into

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

and west through

and Jefferson to

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

Rivers

Peabody River The Peabody River is a river in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River, which flows south and east into Maine, joining the Kennebec River near the Atlantic Ocean. The Peabody Rive ...

* Moose River

Adjacent municipalities

(north) *

(northeast) * Shelburne (east) *

Purchase Purchasing is the procurement process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary g ...

(southeast) * Martin's Location (south) * Thompson and Meserve's Purchase (southwest) * Low and Burbank's Grant (southwest) *

(west)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,848 people, 1,301 households, and 802 families residing in the town. There were 1,487 housing units, of which 186, or 12.5%, were vacant. The racial makeup of the town was 97.0%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 1.1%

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n, 0.0%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

or Pacific Islander, 0.04% some other race, and 1.5% from two or more races. 0.9% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. Of the 1,301 households, 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were headed by

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19, and the average family size was 2.73. In the town, 19.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.4% were from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 34.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males. For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $51,190, and the median income for a family was $63,071. Male full-time workers had a median income of $45,432 versus $33,542 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $28,508. 7.5% of the population and 4.5% of families were below the poverty line. 12.0% of the population under the age of 18 and 9.0% of those 65 or older were living in poverty. Gorham Fire Department Stevage

Historical demographics

Howard Mansfield of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote that in the 1920s, "When you spoke of prejudice in all-white Gorham, it was between the Protestants and the Catholic French Canadians."

Notable people

* William Hatch, New Hampshire politician * Albert C. Johnston (?–1988), doctor

Education

* Gorham High School

Sites of interest

Gorham Historical Society and Railroad Museum
* Moose Brook State Park

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Towns in Coös County, New Hampshire Berlin, New Hampshire micropolitan area Towns in New Hampshire