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B−History
History · Goochland

Goochland’s post office opened in 1893, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Goochland was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1943 on.

1893first post office
3on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Goochland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Goochland began

When was Goochland founded?

1893

The Goochland post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Goochland Courthouse (1796), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 899133 years

How historic is Goochland?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Goochland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Goochland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Goochland is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Goochland’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.4% of homes (±7.4) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 13 historic buildings, 110 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Goochland’s 110 sits above most of its state (74% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% 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 (±7.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Goochland’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Goochland, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Goochland’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGoochland County Courthouse, East Side …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Goochland’s post office has been open since 1893. Another post office, Goochland Courthouse, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Goochland Courthouse
1796–1893
Maidens
1884–today
Goochland
1893–today
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cedar HillsCedar PointMaidensVenice HeightsVillage Acres

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

The story so far

Goochland, in brief

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

Goochland is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Goochland County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 899, up from 861 in 2010. The community is also known as Goochland Courthouse or by an alternative spelling, Goochland Court House. It derives its name from the fact that the community is the location of the county's court house, while the county in turn is named for Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet, the royal lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749.

Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 861 to 899 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Goochland, 1763 to 1943

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1763Born hereNathaniel Massie is born here
  3. 1789Born hereJohn Berry Meachum is born here
  4. 1796Post officeThe Goochland Courthouse post office opens
  5. 19th century
  6. 1842BuiltBrightly is built
  7. 1884Post officeThe Maidens post office opens
  8. 1893Post officeThe Goochland Courthouse post office closes
  9. 1893Post officeThe Goochland post office opens
  10. 20th century
  11. 1912Born hereJ. Harwood Cochrane is born here
  12. 1932Born hereCarl Gordon is born here
  13. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Goochland, decade by decade

Date unknown4 to date
Goochland County Courthouse, East Side of U.S. Route 522Date?Goochland County Courthouse, East Side of U.S. Route …Lawyer's Office, U.S. Route 522Date?Lawyer's Office, U.S. Route 522James River & Kanawha Canal, Lickinghole Creek Aqueduct, Spanning Lickinghole CreekDate?James River & Kanawha Canal, Lickinghole Creek Aquedu…Fork Church, State Route 738, Ashland, Hanover County, VADate?Fork Church, State Route 738, Ashland, Hanover County…
Today3 recent
Slave Cabin Ruins2019Slave Cabin RuinsGoochland, Virginia2011Goochland, VirginiaGoochland, Virginia2011Goochland, Virginia
On the map

Goochland on the map, 1943 to 1987

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Goochland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Goochland on the 1943 USGS mapGoochland on the 1968 USGS mapGoochland on the 1974 USGS mapGoochland on the 1987 USGS map1943Goochland 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 Goochland.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Goochland County Courthouse, East Side of U.S. Route 522
Retake this viewGoochland County Courthouse, East Side of U.S. Route 522

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Goochland’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 13 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
13
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Goochland County Court Square
Goochland County Court SquareLock-Keeper's HouseBrightly, built 1842
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Jeffersonian1
Tuscan1
Roman Revival1
Greek Revival1
Goochland County Court SquareJeffersonian
Lock-Keeper's HouseStructure
BrightlyGreek Revival · Built 1842

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Goochland

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Carl GordonAmerican actor · b. 1932
Nathaniel MassieAmerican politician · b. 1763
J
J. Harwood CochraneAmerican businessman · b. 1912
John Berry MeachumBaptist minister and educator · b. 1789
T
Turner BethelAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1895

Questions about Goochland’s history

What year was Goochland founded?

The Goochland post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Goochland rank for history?

Goochland is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. 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 Goochland?

Three places: the Goochland County Court Square (listed 1970), the Lock-Keeper's House (1974) and the Brightly (2006).

How old are the homes in Goochland?

4% of Goochland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 2004.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.