Gorham, North Dakota

Gorham is an unincorporated community and ghost town in Billings County, North Dakota, United States.

Gorham served as a hub for the rural community, containing a Ukrainian Catholic church, general store, post office, and other businesses.

Ukrainians from the historical region of Galicia began emigrating en masse beginning in the late 19th century to escape severe poverty, overpopulation, and tenant farming policies.

[5]: 86  Hundreds chose to settle in Belfield, North Dakota and the surrounding rural countryside, particularly in Billings County.

[6]: E6  Villages of origin for these Ukrainians included Bilivtsi, Boryshkivtsi [uk], Melnytsia-Podilska, and Okopy, all now located in Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast.

[6]: E6  One dispute occurred when, on Easter Sunday of that year, the Ukrainian Catholics at Ukraina ousted their priest due to his failure to arrive on time to bless their Easter baskets; when Gorham asked him to become their priest and he accepted, Catholics in the two communities began to resent one another.

Map of North Dakota highlighting Billings County