Map of Philipse Patent (showing the Oblong and Gore)

A gore is an irregular parcel of land, as small as a triangle of median in a street intersection or as large as an unincorporated area the size of a township. In old English law, a gore was a small, narrow strip of land. In modern land law and surveying a gore is a strip of land, usually triangular in shape, as might be left between surveys that do not close. In some northeastern U.S. states (mainly northern

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

), a gore (sometimes a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

purchase Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between ...

) remains as an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

of a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

that is not part of any

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

, has limited self-government, and may be unpopulated.

History

Historically, North American named gores were most often the result of errors when the land was first surveyed and Colonial era

land patent A land patent is a form of letters patent assigning official ownership of a particular tract of land that has gone through various legally-prescribed processes like surveying and documentation, followed by the letter's signing, sealing, and publi ...

s and, later, towns were laid out. A gore would be created by conflicting surveys, resulting in two or more patentees claiming the same land, or lie in an area between two supposedly abutting towns but technically in neither. Surrounding towns have been known to absorb a gore—for example, the gore between Tunbridge and

Royalton, Vermont Royalton is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,750 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Royalton, South Royalton, and North Royalton. Vermont Law School, the state's only accredited law school, ...

, was eventually incorporated into Tunbridge. Some gores have become towns in their own right, such as

Stannard, Vermont Stannard is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont. The population was 208 at the 2020 census. The town has no paved roads. History Previously known as Goshen Gore No. 1, the town was incorporated as Stannard in honor of General George J. Stannar ...

As unincorporated territories

Different states have different laws governing gores and other unincorporated territories. In

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

, all unincorporated territories (whether townships, gores, or grants) are governed directly by the Land Use Planning Commission, a state agency. They do not, therefore, enjoy the rights and obligations of direct local self-governance of a corporate Maine municipality, via local elections of town boards of selectmen, and

town meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

s that debate and approve the town budget and expenditures. Occasionally, a town will choose to become unincorporated after having been an incorporated town; a recent example of this is the former town of

Madrid, Maine Madrid is a former town, now a part of the unorganized territory of East Central Franklin, in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 173 at the 2000 census. History It was part of an extensive tract of land purchased from Mass ...

Sample New England gores

Some of New England's gores include: * Not considered a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

by the United States Census, but legally considered a

minor civil division A minor civil division (MCD) is a term used by the United States Census Bureau for primary governmental and/or administrative divisions of a county or county-equivalent, typically a municipal government such as a city, town, or civil township. MCD ...

by the state of

References

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History

As unincorporated territories

Sample New England gores

References

See also