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History · Goodwill Township

Goodwill Township’s post office opened in 1889, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Goodwill Township began

When was Goodwill Township founded?

1889

The Goodwill Township post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Goodwill (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 933137 years
Founding year: the first Goodwill Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Goodwill Township’s 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 Goodwill Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Goodwill Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Goodwill Township’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
The story so far

Goodwill Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Goodwill Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Goodwill is an unincorporated community and former census-designated place (CDP) in Roberts County, South Dakota, United States. Prior to the 2020 Census, the CDP was merged into the Agency Village census-designated place. Over 90% of the population is Native American.

Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 844 to 933 (+11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Goodwill Township, 1889 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Goodwill post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907Post officeThe Goodwill post office closes
  5. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Goodwill Township on the map in 1970

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Goodwill Township.

Goodwill Township on the 1970 USGS map1970Goodwill sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Goodwill Township

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

See all →
Arthur E. NelsonAmerican politician · b. 1892
Charles M. DaleAmerican lawyer, 66th governor of New Hampshire · b. 1893
Royce WilliamsRetired United States Navy aviator · b. 1925
Joe RobbieNFL Team Owner · b. 1916
Charles BurnettSenior commander in the Royal Air Force · b. 1882
J
Jeff BackerAmerican politician · b. 1967
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Goodwill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Goodwill
Gone or out of use
Goodwill Mission ChurchchurchGoodwill Post Officepost officeGovernment Indian SchoolschoolIndian Mission SchoolschoolSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 2school
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Goodwill Township
GoodwillGoodwill Number 2Goodwill Presbyterian

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Easter Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAgency Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSisseton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDry Wood Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAgency VillageIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Goodwill Township’s history

What year was Goodwill Township founded?

The Goodwill Township post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.