This is a transcription of the Gilsum, NH description from New Hampshire As It Is by Edwin A. Charlton; Part II: A Gazetteer of New Hampshire by George Ticknor, Tracy and Sanford Publishers, Claremont, N. H., 1855.
GILSUM
GILSUM, Cheshire county. Bounded north by Alstead, east by Stoddard and Keene, south by Keene, and west by Surrey. Area, 9,456 acres. 46 miles south-west from Concord, and 9 north from Keene. The surface is generally uneven and stony. The soil is fertile; and in many parts good arable land, free from stone, is to be found. Ashuelot River runs through this town, and affords several excellent water privileges. There is a small body of water in the north-east part of the town called Cranberry Pond. Near the house of Mr. Samuel Bingham there is a huge block of loose granite resting upon the crushed edges of a strata of mica slate. This immense bowlder [sic] has received the name of Vessel Rock, and appears to have been stranded upon the mica slate ledge, whither it was driven and deposited by the powerful drift current which passed over the country in ancient times. A large piece of this rock was split off from the mass by some external force in the winter of 1817. The principal block measures 26 feet long by 24 in width and 26 in height.
There are in this town two stores, one hotel, and two woollen factories. In one, owned and occupied by Ebenezer Jones, about 15,000 yards of choice broadcloth are manufactured annually. The number of hands employed is 20. Capital invested, $15,000. Ebenezer Jones proprietor. In the other are manufactured about 40,000 yards of flannel per annum. Number of hands employed, 12. Capital invested, $9000. There is also a factory for making bobbins, a chair factory, and a large tannery.
Gilsum was first granted, December 8, 1752, to Joseph Osgood, Jacob Farmer, and others, and was called Boyle. It was regranted, July 13, 1763, to Messrs. Gilbert and Sumner, and others. From the union of the first syllables of these two names is derived the name Gilsum. First settlement in 1764, by Josiah Kilburn. The Congregational church was established in 1772; incorporated in 1816. There are now two meeting houses–one owned by the Congregational, the other by the Methodist, society.
Population, 666.
Number of legal voters in 1854, 157.
Inventory, $187,080.
Value of lands, $76,531.
Number of sheep, 1413.
Do. neat stock, 531.
Do. horses and mules, 94.