Goshen

Goshen is located in southwestern Pike County in the southeastern part of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government.

History

Originally called Goshen Hill and located several miles from its current location, Goshen has been recognized as one of the oldest communities in Pike County, which organized in the 1820s. Elam Primitive Baptist Church, established in 1830, was one of the earliest institutions serving the town and county. Land around Goshen Hill was fertile, enabling farmers to grow cotton, corn, peanuts, and hay for cattle. During the Civil War, the fields around Goshen Hill were used as training grounds for Confederate soldiers.

In 1890, the railroad came through the area, and Goshen Hill moved closer to the tracks, changing its name to Goshen and orienting itself around a public well in the center of the town. The railroad prompted an increase in population and expansion of the town that would include a new school, cotton gin, sawmill, post office, and several new mercantile stores. A petition to incorporate Goshen was filed in 1905 and passed easily; for an unknown reason, it was filed again in 1907.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, Goshen recorded a population of 222. Of that number, 58.1 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 38.3 percent as African American, .4 percent as American Indian, 1.4 percent as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 0.9 as two or more races, and 0.5 percent as Hispanic or Latino. The town’s median household income, according to 2010 estimates, was $36,875, and the per capita income was $14,874.

Employment

According to 2020 Census estimates, the workforce in Goshen was divided among the following industrial categories:

  • Retail trade (29.0 percent)
  • Educational services and health care and social assistance (21.0 percent)
  • Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (11.3 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (11.3 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (9.7 percent)
  • Manufacturing (4.8 percent)
  • Construction (3.2 percent)
  • Public administration (3.2 percent)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extraction (1.6 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (0.3 percent)

Education

Schools in Goshen are part of the Pike County school system; the town has one K-6 elementary school and one 7-12 high school.

Transportation

County Highway 28 exits Goshen running roughly southeast; just outside of town it intersects County Highway 61, which runs straight south. State Highway 28 lies three miles northwest of Goshen, running northeast-southwest. The Conecuh Valley Railroad, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc., operates a 12-mile line from Troy to Goshen.

Events and Places of Interest

The Pike County Historical and Genealogical Society is located in Goshen. The Elam Primitive Baptist Church is located north of Goshen; its annual Sacred Harp Singing has been held for more than 100 years.

Further Reading

  • Farmer, Margaret Pace. One Hundred Fifty Years in Pike County, Alabama, 1821-1971. Anniston, Ala.: Higginbotham, 1973.

External Links

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