The Gooding post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1907. Another post office, Toponis (1883), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,444 in 19102020 census: 3,707126 years
How historic is Gooding?
C+
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Gooding post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1907.
History grade
What drives Gooding’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gooding is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #31 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gooding’s overall grade.
Idaho towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Idaho town has 8.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Gooding’s 18.5 sits above most of its state (67% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1907 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Gooding’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Gooding, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gooding yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Gooding is the county seat of and the largest city in Gooding County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,716 at the 2020 census. The city is named for Frank R. Gooding, a local sheep rancher who became a prominent political figure in Idaho in the early 20th century, serving as both Governor of Idaho and a United States Senator. The original name of Gooding was Toponis. Gooding is home to the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind. The world's largest factory for barrel cheese, the raw product for processed cheese, is located in Gooding. It has a capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year of barrel cheese and belongs to the Glanbia group. Gooding is also home to Gooding Elementary, Go…
Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,567 to 3,707 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Gooding, 1880 to 1971
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Gooding’s post office has been open since 1900. Another post office, Toponis, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Toponis
1883–1900
Gooding
1900–today
18801950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Gooding’s history
What year was Gooding founded?
The Gooding post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1907.
How does Gooding rank for history?
Gooding is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #31 of 59 in Idaho. 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.
What is on the National Register in Gooding?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Citizens State Bank (listed 1980, the first). 7 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Gooding?
11% of Gooding’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1961.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.
2008
2007
2004
