Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and old-book passages.
The Goshen post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Goshen’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Goshen. 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 Goshen.
From Wikipedia’s history of Goshen.
The area was settled by Aaron Leaming, who began raising cattle in 1693. By 1710 there was a settlement. Goshen's first industry was a king crab mill and a canning factory. Shipbuilding and lumbering industries flourished. A post office was established in 1818, with Richard Thompson Jr. as the first postmaster.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Goshen, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In 1818 postoffices were established in the villages of Goshen and Fishing Creek, at the former place on June 5, and at the latter place fifteen days later. Richard Th.ompson, Jr., was the first postmaster at Goshen and Robert Edmunds at Fishing Creek.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
"Goshen contains tavern, 2 stores, a steam saw mill, 12 or 15 dwellings, a school house, in which religious meetings are held."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Goshen’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The Goshen post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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2024
2018