Gorman, South Dakota facts for kids

Gorman is a small, unincorporated community in Potter County, in the U.S. state of South Dakota. An "unincorporated community" means it's a group of homes and buildings that isn't officially a town or city with its own local government. It's like a tiny neighborhood in the countryside.

The Story of Gorman

How Gorman Began

Gorman was founded in 1910 by a man named Roscoe Thurlow Gorman. The community was named after him! It was built right next to the railroad tracks, which was important for travel and trade back then. Gorman was located about ten miles southeast of Gettysburg and ten miles north of Agar, near a small stream called Artichoke Creek.

What Gorman Was Like

When Gorman was busiest, it had several important buildings. There was a large grain elevator, which is a tall building used to store grain like wheat or corn. It also had a U.S. Post Office, a school, a blacksmith shop, and a mercantile. A mercantile was like a general store where people could buy many different things they needed.

In 1911, about 400 people lived in Gorman and on the farms nearby. However, by 1920, the population had dropped quite a bit, with only 63 people living there.

Gorman's Later Years

Over time, the community became smaller. The post office in Gorman closed its doors in 1945. After that, the general store and the grain elevators also closed. The small, one-room school, where many children learned, finally closed in the early 1950s.

On July 15, 1945, Gorman officially became part of the nearby town of Gettysburg.