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CHistory
History · Goodwater

Goodwater’s post office opened in 1850, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1890.

1850first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Goodwater began

When was Goodwater founded?

1850

The Goodwater post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 589 in 18902020 census: 1,291176 years

How historic is Goodwater?

C

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Goodwater post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Goodwater’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Goodwater is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Goodwater’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194015.2% of homes (±6.0) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 35%
NewerOlder

Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Goodwater’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Goodwater’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Goodwater are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,172 in 1970; 1,291 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1928, drew every building in Goodwater.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Goodwater’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Goodwater’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Goodwater, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,172

Peaked at 2,172 in 1970; 1,291 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Goodwater’s Wikipedia page.

Every building

Goodwater, building by building, 1894–1928

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Goodwater fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Goodwater, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Goodwater yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Goodwater is a town in Coosa County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,291. It is part of the Talladega-Sylacauga Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,475 to 1,291 (-12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Goodwater, 1850 to 1995

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Goodwater post office opens
  3. 1879Born hereRobert Daniel Carmichael is born here
  4. 1891Born hereOliver Carmichael is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 2,172
  8. 1980Born hereJamario Moon is born here
  9. 1995Born hereXavier Moon is born here
By decade

Goodwater, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Goodwater Alabama2011Goodwater Alabama
On the map

Goodwater on the map, 1944 to 2001

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Goodwater. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Goodwater on the 1944 USGS mapGoodwater on the 1975 USGS mapGoodwater on the 1987 USGS mapGoodwater on the 2001 USGS map1944Goodwater sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Goodwater.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Goodwater

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
R
Robert Daniel CarmichaelAmerican mathematician · b. 1879
Jamario MoonAmerican basketball player · b. 1980
Xavier MoonAmerican basketball player · b. 1995
Oliver CarmichaelAmerican academic administrator · b. 1891

Questions about Goodwater’s history

What year was Goodwater founded?

The Goodwater post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Goodwater rank for history?

Goodwater is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Goodwater?

15% of Goodwater’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1980.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.