Godahl is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

and Watonwan counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Location

Godahl sits on the boundary line for Brown and Watonwan counties, occupying two counties. The community is located between Sleepy Eye and St. James on

Minnesota State Highway 4 Minnesota State Highway 4 (MN 4) is a highway in southwest and west-central Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 4 at the Iowa state line (near Dunnell, MN and Estherville, IA), and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange ...

. The community is located at the junction of Minnesota State Highway 4 with County Roads 6 and 10.

History

Godahl was settled by Norwegian immigrants and named in honor of their home, called Gode Dahl ("Good Valley"). The town had a post office from 1894 until 1907, and a station of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway. The community failed to develop, and for many years the only remnant of its commercial aspirations was the Godahl Store, a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

built in 1894 and now listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The store closed on December 31, 2016.

References

Unincorporated communities in Minnesota Unincorporated communities in Brown County, Minnesota Unincorporated communities in Watonwan County, Minnesota {{WatonwanCountyMN-geo-stub