Originally part of Gilmanton, Gilford was
first settled in the late 1770's. Originally named and
spelled Guilford by a Revolutionary War veteran, a misspelling
by a statehouse clerk changed the name to Gilford. Samuel
Jewett, the original settler, built his home their in
1777. His property later became part of Laconia. In 1792
Gilford was made an independent town in 1812. A Revolutionary
War veteran named the town Guilford, but a clerk in the
statehouse misspelled the name to make it Gilford.
