Gorham, North Dakota facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gorham, North Dakota
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 Gorham, North Dakota
Location in North Dakota
Gorham, North Dakota
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | North Dakota |
| County | Billings |
| Founded | c. 1899 |
| Abandoned | 1972 |
| Elevation | 2,749 ft (838 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| Area code(s) | 701 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1034889 |
Gorham is a ghost town in Billings County, North Dakota, United States. It is an unincorporated community, meaning it is not officially part of a city or town. The community started around 1899. Many Ukrainian immigrants moved there. Gorham was once a busy place with a church, a general store, and a post office. The town was officially left empty in 1972. However, some farms still exist in the area.
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How Gorham Got Its Name
Gorham was named after Fred E. Gorham. He was an early rancher in the area. Mr. Gorham also served as a commissioner for Billings County. This meant he helped manage the county's affairs.
Early Days and Growth
Gorham was one of several villages started by Ukrainian immigrants. They came to western North Dakota around 1896. Many Ukrainians from a region called Galicia began leaving their homes in the late 1800s. They wanted to escape serious poverty and a lack of land. About 1,200 Ukrainians first stopped in Winnipeg, Canada. Then, they traveled to North Dakota. Hundreds chose to settle near Belfield, North Dakota. Many settled in the countryside of Billings County. These Ukrainians came from villages like Bilivtsi and Melnytsia-Podilska. These places are now in Ukraine.
A Busy Community
A post office opened in Gorham on July 28, 1899. Thomas Jefferson McDonald was the first postmaster. This first post office closed in 1905. In 1917, local farmers started a co-operative store. This means the store was owned by its customers. It was in a two-story building. The store and post office were on the first floor. A home was on the second floor.
The store burned down in January 1918. But it was rebuilt the next year. It reopened as the General Merchandise Store. A new building for the store and post office was built in 1920. The Baranko family bought the store in 1940. John and Olga Baranko ran it until 1947. Their son Mike then took over. He ran the business until 1972. Gorham also had other businesses. These included a place to keep horses (a livery), a place to make butter and cheese (a creamery), a saloon, and a blacksmith shop. A blacksmith made and repaired things out of metal.
Churches and Community Life
Most of the Ukrainians in Gorham were Ukrainian Catholic. They soon began building churches. The first church in the area was built in 1906 in a place called Ukraina. But a church in Gorham, St. Josephat Ukrainian Catholic Church, was built in 1912. It was connected to another church, St. Demetrius. The two communities often shared a pastor. The pastor first lived at St. Josaphat. Later, a house for the pastor was built in Ukraina.
By 1916, some disagreements started between the two churches. For example, on Easter Sunday that year, the Ukrainian Catholics in Ukraina asked their priest to leave. He was late to bless their Easter baskets. When Gorham asked him to be their priest, he agreed. This caused some hard feelings between the two communities.
At its busiest time in 1937, Gorham was home to five families. About 40 people lived there.
Why Gorham Disappeared
Gorham started to shrink in the 1930s. Many ranchers and farmers in the area retired. They moved to bigger towns like Belfield. Others found new jobs. In 1972, the United States Post Office decided to combine the Gorham and Fairfield post offices. A new post office was built in Fairfield by Mike Baranko in 1972. At this point, the town of Gorham officially became empty.
The old store and post office building was moved in 1984. It went to the Prairie Outpost Park in Dickinson. With its last building gone, Gorham was officially removed from North Dakota state maps in 1994.
