Gorham (Maine)

Gorham
Location in Maine
Gorham
Basic data
Foundation :	October 30, 1764
State :	United States
State :	Maine
County :	Cumberland County
Coordinates :	43 ° 42 ′  N , 70 ° 28 ′  W Coordinates: 43 ° 42 ′  N , 70 ° 28 ′  W
Time zone :	Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Inhabitants : -  Metropolitan Area :	16,381 (as of 2010) 513,102 (as of July 1, 2007)
Population density :	124.9 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	132.8 km 2  (approx. 51 mi 2 ) of which 131.2 km 2  (approx. 51 mi 2 ) is land
Height :	63 m
Postal code :	04038
FIPS :	23-28240
GNIS ID :	0582493
Website :	www.gorham-me.org

Gorham is a town in Cumberland County in the state of Maine in the United States . In 2010 there were 16,381 inhabitants in 5719 households on an area of ​​132.8 km².

Gorham is part of the Portland - South Portland - Biddeford Metropolitan Statistical Area . One of the three campuses of the University of Southern Maine is in Gorham.

geography

According to the United States Census Bureau , the place has a total area of ​​132.8 km², of which 131.2 km² is land and 1.6 km² (1.23% of the total area) is water. Gorham is located in the catchment area of ​​the Little River and the Stroudwater Rivers .

Geographical location

Gorham is located in southwest Cumberland County. Between Sebago Lake in the north and Casco Bay in the south. However, the area of ​​the town does not come close to either. Along the north-eastern border of the town, the Pleasant River flows in a south-easterly direction and flows into Casco Bay at Falmouth. Several smaller rivers flow northeast and flow into the Pleasant River. In the north is the Dundee Pond which is traversed by the Pleasant River. The surface of the town is flat, without any special elevations.

Neighboring communities

All distances are given as straight lines between the official coordinates of the places from the 2010 census.

• Northeast: Windham , 4.5 mi
• East: Westbrook , 7.7 miles
• Southeast: Scarborough , 9.3 mi
• Southwest: Buxton , York County , 5.4 mi
• Northwest: Standish , 13.5 km

City structure

There are several settlement areas in Gorham: Babb Corner , Dayton , Dog Corner , Fort Hill , Gag Corner , Gorham (Gorham Village), Little Falls , Mosher Corner (Moshers Corner), North Gorham , Shaw Mills (Shaws Mill), South Gorham ( formerly Parkers Corners), West Gorham , White Rock and Winship Corner (Winship's Corner; a former village).

climate

The mean mean temperature on Gorham is between −7.8 ° C (18 ° Fahrenheit ) in January and 20.0 ° C (68 ° Fahrenheit) in July. This means that the place is around 9 degrees cooler than the long-term average in the USA. The snowfalls between October and May are up to two and a half meters, more than twice as high as the average snow depth in the USA; the daily sunshine duration is at the lower end of the range in the USA.

history

Academy Building (1806)

First called Narragansett Number 7, the site was one of the seven townships given by the Massachusetts General Court to soldiers (or their heirs) who fought in the Narragansett War ( King Philip's War ) in 1675. Captain John Phinney and his family first settled on this land in 1736, followed by Hugh McLellan and Daniel Mosher in 1738. In 1743 the first sawmill was founded by John Gorham on the Little River. The first apartments were built from wood without window glass, with the spaces between them being filled with moss and clay .

Narragansett Number 7 saw its first Indian attack in 1745 , during which the meeting house and sawmill were set on fire. The second attack followed in 1746, in which five colonists were killed and three kidnapped. The attacks finally ended during the French and Indian Wars with the Peace of Paris in 1763 . Named Gorhamtown Plantation in honor of Captain John Gorham, the site became independent as Gorham on October 30, 1764. Gorham annexed land from Standish in 1831 and 1839 and from Scarborough in 1864 . Gorham became the namesake of Gorham , New Hampshire , which became independent in 1836.

The good soil promoted agriculture and numerous waterfalls supplied hydropower plants for industry. The place developed into a manufacturing center, with Portland as a market nearby. Products such as textiles , clothing , carpets , wood , barrels , chairs , carriages , wagons and sleighs were made there. There was also a box factory, a corn boiling factory , a wood pulp mill , a brick factory , a tannery, and granite and marble factories . The Oxford and Cumberland Canal opened in 1829, connecting Casco Bay to Sebago Lake , although it was discontinued in 1871 because it was obsolete by the York and Cumberland Railroad (later the Portland and Rochester Railroad) which came to Gorham in 1851. Today, no longer in operation, the former are track beds of the railway . Today they are used as a multifunctional recreational path. On September 12, 1870 , the first train of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad (now part of the Maine Central Railroad ) ran between Portland and Sebago Lake.

In 1803 the Gorham Academy was founded. Designed by Samuel Elder, the Academy Building was built in 1806 in federal style . The institution evolved into Western Maine Normal School and later Gorham State Teachers College. Today the University of Southern Maine is based in Gorham.

Gorham now has a smaller industrial infrastructure than it used to have. The majority of the industry is on the Westbrook border and many of the mills that once existed along the Presumpscot River are now flooded by the Dundee Dams. More recently, Gorham has become famous as the satellite town of Portland. Its residents and city councilors have faced a variety of disputes in order to manage suburban growth in a historic country town.

Population development

Census Results - Town of Gorham, Maine
year	1800	1810	1820	1830	1840	1850	1860	1870	1880	1890
Residents	2503	2632	2795	2988	3001	3088	3252	3351	3233	2888
year	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990
Residents	2540	2822	2870	3035	3494	4742	5767	7839	10101	11856
year	2000	2010	2020	2030	2040	2050	2060	2070	2080	2090
Residents	14141	16381

Culture and sights

Buildings

Baxter House

Three districts and seven structures are listed buildings and have been added to the National Register of Historic Places .

as a district

• Gorham Historic District , recorded in 1992, register no. 92001298
• South Street Historic District , incorporated in 1988, Register No. 88000398
• Gorham Campus Historic District , recorded 1978, register no. 78000171

further structures

• Academy Building , recorded in 1973, register no. 73000111
• Art Gallery , recorded 1972, register no. 72000071
• Babb's Bridge , recorded in 1976, register no. 09000088
• Baxter House , incorporated 1979, register no. 79000135
• Isaac W. Dyer Estate , incorporated in 1998, Register No. 98000307
• Stephen Longfellow House , recorded 1984, register no. 84001365
• McLellan House , recorded 1972, register no. 72000073

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

US Highway 202 runs through Gorham in a north-south direction . It connects the town with Agusta in the north and Rochester in the south. To the northwest, the branches Maine State Route 25 of Ossipee Trail from.

Public facilities

In Gorham there are several medical facilities that are also contact points for the residents of the surrounding areas as medical facilities. Other hospitals can be found in Portland and Yarmouth.

Gorham has its own library. The Baxter Memorial Library was built in 1908. It was a donation from Phinney Baxter. The library building is made of pink granite and the interior is red oak.

education

The Gorham School Department is responsible for school education in the town.

The following schools are available in Gorham:

• Gorham High School
• Gorham Middle School
• Great Falls Elementary School
• Narragansett Elementary School
• Village Elementary School

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

• James Phinney Baxter (1831–1921), historian and mayor
• Hiram Edson (1806-1888), Seventh-day Adventist
• Stephen Longfellow (1776–1849), Congressman
• James Mann (1822–1868), politician
• Frederick Robie (1822–1912), Governor of Maine
• Frederick Robie junior (1893–1964), politician
• Ellen Gould Harmon White (1827–1915), co-founder of Seventh-day Adventists
• Horace Wilson (1843-1927), college professor and baseball promoter

Personalities who have worked on site

• Percival Proctor Baxter (1876–1969), Governor of Maine
• Peter A. Garland (1923–2005), politician
• Edwin Hall (1855–1938), physicist

Attractions

• Baxter House Museum
• Gorham Historical Society & Rail Museum
• University of Southern Maine Art Galleries

Web links

Commons : Gorham, Maine  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• Official website
• Gorham Historical Society
• University of Southern Maine
• Gorham on maine.gov
• Gorham Sports Pages Newspaper

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gorham in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System , accessed March 10, 2018
2. ↑ Maine 2010 Census Results ; official publication of the Census Authority, (English; PDF; 32.5 MB)
3. ↑ Coordinates of the locations of the Census Authority 2010
4. ^ Gorham, Cumberland County | Maine Genealogy. In: mainegenealogy.net. Accessed March 10, 2018 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Gorham, Maine (ME 04038) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news, sex offenders. In: city-data.com. www.city-data.com, accessed on March 10, 2018 (English). 
6. ↑ Population 1800–2010 according to census results
7. ↑ Baxter Memorial Library, Gorham, ME. In: me.us. www.baxter-memorial.lib.me.us, accessed on March 10, 2018 (English). 
8. ↑ Local: Maine.gov. In: maine.gov. Retrieved March 10, 2018 (American English). 
9. ^ Gorham School District. In: gorhamschools.org. Accessed March 10, 2018 .