More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #631 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Goshen was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Goshen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Goshen’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Goshen is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #631 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Goshen’s overall grade.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Goshen’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California 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 D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. 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 Goshen’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail passed through the area, stopping at Head of Cross Creek Station, 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Goshen, at the head of the place where Cross Creek divided into two branches for a time, making it easier to cross them separately. It was 12 miles (19 km) west of the next stop at Visalia, and 15 miles (24 km) southeast of the next stop in the other direction, Whitmore's Ferry.
Goshen was founded in the 1870s. The Central Pacific Railroad was expanding which continued with a branch line from Goshen to Visalia in 1874. In the early 1890s, Chris Evans and John Sontag robbed a Southern Pacific Railroad train at Goshen.
Passages that mention Goshen, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Tulare County, California ... with biographical sketches1883 · page 167Read the page →
Read the text
4/ O Visalia, the county seat, is situated in an exceedingly fertile region, and is the terminus of a branch railroad which connects with Central Pacific Railroad at Goshen seven miles away. Samuel Allen informs us that when he came to Tulare in 1854, there was one store in Visalia kept by Nathan Baker; one blacksmith shop by a man by the name of Turner; a boarding-house by John P. Majors; and one saloon, the keeper’s
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Tulare County, California ... with biographical sketches1883 · page 168Read the page →
Read the text
By a branch railroad to Goshen, regular connection is made with the trains running north and south on the San Joaquin Valley Railroad. Mr. R. E. Hyde, one of Visalia’s live men, formerly a merchant, is President of this railroad.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
The Goshen post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Goshen rank for history?
Goshen is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #631 of 847 in California. 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 Goshen?
0.0% of Goshen’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
