Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 7% of U.S. towns · #266 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Goodview was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1950.
Goodview first appears in the census in 1950.
More historic than 7% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Goodview is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #266 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Goodview’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first census (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Goodview’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Goodview yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Goodview is a city in Winona County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,158 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1950. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,036 to 4,158 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Goodview. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Goodview.
Grew from 777 people in 1950 to 4,158 in 2020, 5 times over.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Goodview’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Goodview itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Goodview post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Goodview is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #266 of 273 in Minnesota. 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.
3% of Goodview’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1985.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
