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History · Gobles

Gobles dates to 1864, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1946 on and the census since 1880.

1864founded
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gobles began

When was Gobles founded?

1864

Gobles dates its founding to 1864 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 181 in 18802020 census: 851162 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓

What stands out about Gobles’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Gobles are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gobles.Old housesHalf of Gobles’ homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gobles’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gobles’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Gobles’s post office has been open since 1922. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lake Mill
1855–1872
Gobleville
1872–1922
Gobles
1922–today
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Gobles StationlocaleWesler Airfieldairport

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Gobles came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gobles.

Read it all →

In 1864–5, John Goble built a hotel in this location. In 1870, the area was platted as 'Gobleville' by Hiram E. Goble. Warren Goble platted an addition to the original plat 2 years later. Hiram Goble also became the first postmaster on April 16, 1872 when the post office was moved from Lake Mills. Gobleville was incorporated as a village in 1893. The current name of 'Gobles' was adopted on April 10, 1922. Gobles was incorporated as a city in 1957.

On April 6, 2012, a fire raged throughout downtown for which 13 fire departments were called in to assist. The buildings that were destroyed were more than 100 years old.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gobles, 1855 to 1946

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Lake Mill post office opens
  3. 1864
    FoundingGobles is established
  4. 1872Post officeThe Lake Mill post office closes
  5. 1872Post officeThe Gobleville post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1922Post officeThe Gobleville post office closes
  8. 1922Post officeThe Gobles post office opens
  9. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Gobles, decade by decade

Today2 recent
St. Jude-Gobles2021St. Jude-GoblesMIMap-doton-Gobles2005MIMap-doton-Gobles
On the map

Gobles on the map in 1946

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gobles.

Gobles on the 1946 USGS map1946Gobles sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gobles.

People over time

Gobles, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020851

Grew from 181 people in 1880 to 851 in 2020, 4 times over.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gobles’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Gobles

Nobody well known was born in Gobles itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
E
Ed GaleAmerican actor · b. 1963
Loretta LongAmerican actress · b. 1938
W
William Franklin WightAmerican botanist · b. 1874
C
Clara Elsene PeckAmerican painter and illustrator · b. 1883
Jack ConklinAmerican football player · b. 1994
Herbert John WebberAmerican botanist · b. 1865
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Pine Grove TownshipIts storyB−Bloomingdale TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Gobles’ history

What year was Gobles founded?

In 1864, according to Wikidata. Gobles’ post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 181 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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.