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.