Gorham, NH

Gorham is a Coos County town in the Androscoggin Valley, with 2,698 residents at the 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1836, but the town changed scale after the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad arrived in 1851. Gorham became a major repair and rail-yard stop between Montreal and the New England seacoast, and travelers used the station to reach the White Mountains, Mount Washington, and the inns around Pinkham Notch. Tourism grew alongside the railroad, and it remains a principal part of the local economy.

The railroad chapter is still visible at the Gorham Historical Society and Railroad Museum, housed in a former depot, while the 1918 Town Hall continues to serve as the town's political and cultural center. Moose Brook State Park lies west of town, and parts of the White Mountain National Forest reach into the south and northwest. The Androscoggin, Peabody, and Moose rivers drain the surrounding country. Gorham is a mountain town whose identity was built by tracks, river valleys, and the steady traffic of people heading farther into the White Mountains.