Soon after the Revolutionary war, the Town of Fairfield began to have secessionist movement for self-governance within its outlying villages. Spearheaded by a resident named Daniel Nash, 130 villages made an application to the Connecticut General Assembly to incorporate as a town. In the process, Westport incorporated parts of Weston, Norwalk and Fairfield. Because of the economic influence of the villages, which at the time were specializes in onion farming and coastal shipping, the charter was granted on May 28, 1935. On the long lots were laid out at the beginning of the 18th century, several families settles the area immediately north of the village of Westport. The Gorham, Beers and the Coley families all owned land with frontage on main Street from the early 1700s through the first decades of the 20th century. [2]

Gorham Avenue Historic district is a distinct collection of residential buildings designed to work in unison with one another, creating a uniform, but not homogenous environment. The time periods represented range from the Colonial era through the late 1930s. While only a few of the buildings from the 18th and 19th century remain the designs of the Eclectic periods historicist revival homes stand in harmony with their predecessors. All of the late 19th and early 20th century homes are modest in scale and reflect American architectural trends of the period. These range from the Arts and Crafts Bungalows, to a modest Prairie influence through the varied vernacular and standard Colonial Revival homes that make up the historic character of the streetscape. The minimal changes that have occurred over time have not obscured the period of interpretation and integrity of the neighborhood. [2]

[1] District information retrieved from the town website http://www.westportct.gov/.
[2] Study report for the proposed Gorham Avenue historic district, 2006, SHPO Library, Hartford.
[3] Westport Historic Resource Inventories accessed from the town website [http://www.westportct.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=910].
[4] Historic District handbook accessed in the town website [http://www.westportct.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=280].
[5] Assessor information retrieved from the website- www.visionappraisal.com.
[6] GIS information retrieved from http://webmap.jws.com/taxmap/viewer.aspx?JWSCONFIG=CT_Westport.

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