The story
Read it all →How Goshen came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Goshen.
A post office called Goshen has been in operation since 1839. The town was named after the biblical Land of Goshen.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Goshen
Goshen’s post office opened in 1839, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1910.
1839first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Goshen began
When was Goshen founded?
1839
The Goshen post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Goshen Hill (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 347 in 19102020 census: 269187 years
Founding year: the first Goshen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Goshen’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Goshen’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Goshen’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Goshen, 1839 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Goshen, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2011
2011On the map
Goshen on the map, 1968 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Goshen. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1968Goshen sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Goshen.
People over time
Goshen, census by census
Between 260 and 367 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Goshen’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Goshen
Nobody well known was born in Goshen itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Goshen’s post office has been open since 1839. Another post office, Goshen Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Goshen
Goshen Hill
18301930today
1cemetery inside Goshen
Hillcrest
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Goshen’s history
What year was Goshen founded?
The Goshen post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.