Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Gorham, North Dakota


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. (non-admin closure) Qwaiiplayer (talk) 13:49, 6 January 2022 (UTC)

Gorham, North Dakota

 * – ( View AfD View log | edits since nomination)

This is one of a number of problem ND cases where I can get some information, but it is hard to add it all up. It's also a good example of why the euphemism/WP-term-of-art "unincorporated community" needs to go. Now, there are a fair number of "in/near/from Gorham" references, so there is some degree of "place-ness" to it. So we go to the maps and aerials, and find that GNIS places it in a small rectangular area separated from the surrounding fields by lines of trees. Old enough aerials and topos show a few buildings of uncertain character, but there's nothing there now and there hasn't been for decades. I did find one reference which stated that "Prior to the 1930s, Gorham boasted a grocery , church , lumber yard , dance hall , school , and post office" ([sic]—- I'm relying on GBooks interpretation here because I can't get the snippet to show up.) It's frankly a little difficult to believe that all that fit into that small rectangle, but in any case by far the most common hit on the place is for St. Josephat's Ukrainian Catholic Church. It was located about 3/5ths of a mile south of the supposed town, but has been gone for some time, survived by an extensive cemetery. There are a number of pictures of both versions of the church (the first one burned only five years after its construction) and it is typically referenced in discussion of Ukrainian immigration into the area, but I cannot find a date for its closure and/or destruction. So here's the problem: reading between the lines, there was something here which originated maybe just before WW I and which maybe got snuffed out by the Great Depression. But that is taking a great deal of synthesis, and even the most basic fact— that whatever it was, it's not there any more— requires resort to primary sources. I'm just not seeing how we can justify an article here. Mangoe (talk) 03:15, 29 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Geography-related deletion discussions. Hog Farm Talk 20:48, 29 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of North Dakota-related deletion discussions. Hog Farm Talk 20:48, 29 December 2021 (UTC)


 * Keep ...
 * This book describes Gorham as a short-lived "official North Dakota town" with a post office. The snippet view cuts out the rest of the description, but it says it may have been named for Frederick Eldridge Gorham, a local settler.
 * This source calls Gorham a village, and has an entry for Gorham in the appendix.
 * This source says, "Louis moved to Gorham, Billings County, North Dakota".
 * This source describes a proposed railway "to Gorham, Billings County". There was also a survey for a railway to Gorham. Another mention of the railway, with the name of a contact person in Gorham named J. Evoniuk.  That fellow, John Anthony Evoniuk, has an Ancestry.com entry that says he was born in "Gorham, Billings County, North Dakota".
 * Gravestone for a fellow born in Gorham.
 * Obituary for someone born in Gorham. I found at least 20 obituaries for people born in Gorham.
 * This describes the founding of Gorham as a community.
 * This describes Gorham as a "former town".
 * Some photos of the store in Gorham. Magnolia677 (talk) 00:19, 30 December 2021 (UTC)


 * Keep Meets GNG per above sources. ~ EDDY  ( talk / contribs )~ 00:03, 3 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Keep per above. Doremo (talk) 14:05, 5 January 2022 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.