Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in Goshen, CA

Goshen is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Tulare County, just west of Visalia in California's San Joaquin Valley — it is a county-administered community, not an incorporated city.

Goshen was founded in the 1870s as a railroad town, and in 1874 the Central Pacific Railroad built a branch line from Goshen to Visalia, making Goshen an early rail junction for the southern valley.

Until the 20th century, Goshen was literally an island in a marsh at the edge of Tulare Lake, which was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes before it was drained for agriculture.

In 1858 the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route passed through the area, stopping at the Head of Cross Creek Station about four miles northwest of present-day Goshen.

In the early 1890s, Goshen made Wild West headlines when outlaws Chris Evans and John Sontag robbed a Southern Pacific Railroad train there, part of their famous crime spree against the railroad.

Goshen is one of California's faster-growing small communities: its population jumped 65.3% between 2010 and 2020, from 3,006 to 4,968 people, after first appearing as a census-designated place in the 2000 census.

Goshen's 1,262 households average 3.94 people each — among the largest household sizes in California — and 59% of them include children under 18, giving the community a median age of just 27.3 years.

About 78% of Goshen's residents are Hispanic or Latino, according to the 2020 census, reflecting its deep roots in the San Joaquin Valley's farmworker communities.

About 59% of Goshen's homes are owner-occupied, and the community is served by the Visalia Unified School District.

The CDP covers just 2.8 square miles at an elevation of 285 feet, surrounded by some of the most productive farmland in Tulare County, one of the top agricultural counties in America.