A history of Gorham,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Gorham from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusGorham 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.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 236 to 173 (-27%). Half of its homes were built before 1955.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gorham yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Gorham’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
3 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewRepairing Brunkhorst levee west o…, 1927: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Gorham, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Gorham is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Gorham has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Grand Tower Mining, Manufacturing and Transportation Company Site in Grand Tower, 5.9 miles away.
Gorham and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Repairing Brunkhorst levee west of Gorham, Illinois (1927) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (7) and the Library of Congress (5). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.