Goshen is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) near

Visalia Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

, in Tulare County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The population was 3,006 at the 2010 census, up from 2,394 at the 2000 census. Until the twentieth century, Goshen was an island in a marsh at the edge of

Tulare Lake Tulare Lake () ( Spanish: ''Laguna de Tache'', Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'') is a freshwater dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. After Lake Cahuilla disappeared in the 17th century ...

, formerly the largest freshwater lake west of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

until drained.

History

In 1858, the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...

passed through the area stopping at Head of Cross Creek Station, northwest of Goshen, at the head of the place where Cross Creek divided into two branches for a time, making it easier to cross them separately. It was west of the next stop at

, and southeast of the next stop in the other direction, Whitmore's Ferry. Goshen was founded in the 1870s. The

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the " First transcontinental railroad" in North America. Incor ...

was expanding which continued with a branch line from Goshen to Visalia in 1874. In the early 1890s, Chris Evans and

John Sontag John Sontag (May 27, 1861 – July 3, 1893) was an outlaw of the American West known for train robberies. Background John Sontag was the oldest son of Maria (Bohn) and Jacob Contant of Mankato, Minnesota. After the death of his father in 1867, hi ...

robbed a

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

train at Goshen. On January 16, 2023, six people, including a ten-month-old baby, were killed in a mass shooting at a house by alleged

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

gang members.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

2010

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

reported that Goshen had a population of 3,006. The population density was . The racial makeup of Goshen was 1,186 (39.5%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 76 (2.5%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 90 (3.0%) Native American, 11 (0.4%) Asian, 1 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1,496 (49.8%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 146 (4.9%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 2,482 persons (82.6%). The Census reported that 3,006 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 773 households, out of which 441 (57.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 384 (49.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 156 (20.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 93 (12.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 82 (10.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 8 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 101 households (13.1%) were made up of individuals, and 33 (4.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.89. There were 633 families (81.9% of all households); the average family size was 4.19. The population was spread out, with 1,074 people (35.7%) under the age of 18, 328 people (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 843 people (28.0%) aged 25 to 44, 557 people (18.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 204 people (6.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.0 males. There were 840 housing units at an average density of , of which 404 (52.3%) were owner-occupied, and 369 (47.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.0%. 1,526 people (50.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,480 people (49.2%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 2,394 people, 593 households, and 507 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 667 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 62.99%

, 2.80%

, 2.05% Native American, 1.38% Asian, 26.90% from

, and 3.88% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 73.14% of the population. There were 593 households, out of which 47.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.5% were non-families. 10.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.98 and the average family size was 4.21. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 37.4% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $28,301, and the median income for a family was $27,962. Males had a median income of $25,781 versus $16,905 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $8,837. About 26.7% of families and 28.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 35.1% of those under age 18 and 25.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...

, Goshen is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Goshen is in

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Tulare County, California Census-designated places in California Stagecoach stops in the United States Butterfield Overland Mail in California