Godley, Texas, Johnson County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

The town was established in 1886. The namesake was R. B. Godley, a Cleburne businessman who donated the right-of-way to the railroad (The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe).

Godley also donated 20 acres for the townsite. A station was built that same year (1886) and a post office opened in 1888.

Early population figures aren�t available but in the mid 1920s, there were 613 residents, which declined to 378 during the Great Depression. The 1940s saw continuing decline and it bottomed out at 317. By the 1950s it had rebounded to 424.

The 1990 census counted 569 residents which grew to 879 by 2000.

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