The story
Read it all →How Goose Lake came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Goose Lake.
Goose Lake was platted in 1889, and it was incorporated in 1908. It took its name from nearby Goose Lake.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Goose Lake
Goose Lake’s post office opened in 1871, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1880.
1871first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Goose Lake began
When was Goose Lake founded?
1871
The Goose Lake post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Boon Spring (1853), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 61 in 18802020 census: 239155 years
Founding year: the first Goose Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Goose Lake’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 Goose Lake’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Goose Lake’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Goose Lake, 1853 to 1892
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Goose Lake, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2021
2004On the map
Goose Lake on the map, 1892 to 1980
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Goose Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Goose Lake sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Goose Lake.
People over time
Goose Lake, census by census
Between 61 and 274 people in every census since 1880.
13 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Goose Lake’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Goose Lake
Nobody well known was born in Goose Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and places now gone
Goose Lake’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Boon Spring, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Boon Spring
Goose Lake
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Goose Lakelocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Goose Lake’s history
What year was Goose Lake founded?
The Goose Lake post office opened in 1871, 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.