Editing Gorham, Kansas (section)

==History==
Beaten to the settlement of [[Wilson, Kansas]] by [[Czech people|Bohemian]] colonists, [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] settlers from [[Philadelphia]] and [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]] established a community on the [[Kansas Pacific Railway]] at the future site of Gorham in April 1872.<ref name=Rose>{{cite web | title = Gorham History | publisher = Kansas Trails | url = http://genealogytrails.com/kan/russell/GorhamHistory.html | access-date = 2010-10-20}}</ref> Elijah Dodge Gorham, a settler from [[Illinois]], gave the town its name when he platted it in 1879. Seeking to create a local trading center, he formally established the town in July 1886, gave land for a [[Catholic Church]] and cemetery, and started several businesses including a general store, [[grain elevator]], [[post office]], lumberyard, and a coal yard.  Additional grain elevators and a stockyard subsequently opened, establishing Gorham as a farming community.<ref name=History>{{cite web | title = History of Gorham | publisher = [[State Library of Kansas]] | url = http://skyways.lib.ks.us/towns/Gorham/history.htm | access-date = 2010-10-20}}</ref>

The discovery of [[petroleum|oil]] deposits in Russell County transformed the local economy in the 1920s. Companies including [[Texaco]], [[Stanolind]], and [[Sohio]] started operations in the area, stimulating Gorham's growth. A brick school building was built in 1922 followed by a second building in 1930 and another in 1949.<ref name=History/> Gorham [[municipal corporation|incorporated]] as a city in 1941.<ref>{{cite web | title = Census of Population: 1950 | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]] | page = 16.20 | year = 1952 | url = http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch06.pdf | access-date = 2010-10-20}}</ref> By 1944, it had a diverse business community, two [[oil field]] production companies, and public schools. From the 1950s to the early 1980s, the city expanded further through the development of residential additions.<ref name=History/>