More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #357 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Goulds was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Goulds post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Goulds’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Goulds is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #357 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Goulds’ overall grade.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Goulds’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (33% of Florida 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 (±2.0 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 Goulds’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that became Goulds was settled in 1900 by homesteaders. It received its name when the Florida East Coast Railway built a siding in 1903, operated by an employee of the railroad named Lyman Goulds. It was first known as "Gould's Siding", and later shortened to "Goulds". Many packing houses were built along the Old Dixie Highway. Early on, Goulds had a reputation as a rough town, with several saloons serving itinerant field workers. The area was originally populated as the result of a stop on the Florida East Coast Railroad. The railroad depot was located near the current Southwest 224th Street. The community was named after its operator, Lyman Gould, who cut trees for railroad ties.
The Goulds post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Goulds rank for history?
Goulds is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #357 of 638 in Florida. 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 Goulds?
2% of Goulds’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1986.
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) 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.
