Growing CITY OF GODLEY
Godley was established in 1886 and named after R . B . Godley , a Cleburne lumber merchant who donated an eight-acre tract for a townsite and 20 acres of land as a right-of-way to the Gulf , Colorado and Santa Fe Railway .
A railway station was constructed in 1886 and by 1888 , when the post office opened , Godley had a gristmill , three cotton gins and two dairy-processing plants . Four years later it had two general stores .
By the mid-1920s the population of Godley was 613 . In 1930 it was 378 , with 22 rated businesses operated locally . In the 1940s the town had a population of 317 and 20 businesses . By 1956 it had a population of 424 and 16 businesses , and by 1990 it had 569 people and 12 businesses .
The population was 1,450 in 2020 , up from 1,009 in 2010 .
There are two historical markers in Godley . The first is at First Baptist Church of Godley , 101 E Allen Ave . Originally known as Bethany Baptist Church , the congregation was organized in spring 1878 at the home of J . P . Vickers , about four miles from what is now the town of Godley . In 1880 , during the pastorate of the Rev . S . E . Brook , the new church was accepted into the Alvarado Baptist Association . Worship services were held the first Sunday and every third Saturday and Sunday of the month . In 1899 the congregation moved into the town of Godley and adopted the name Godley Baptist Church . The fellowship became known as First Baptist Church in 1974 .
The second is at Godley School , 309 N . Pearson . Predating the railroad town was the local school , as Johnson County Commissioners Court formed Godley ISD in July 1884 . Dr . John I . Pearson was one of the earliest teachers . Godley College began in 1899 in a three-story frame building , becoming Godley High School three years later . A three-story brick building opened in time for graduation in 1916 .
Godley School experienced great growth in the late 1930s through rural school consolidation and federal New Deal agency aid . A 1937 gymnasium and 1939 auditorium enlarged the existing campus . The auditorium ( later a library ) was completed with financial and labor assistance through the National Youth Administration . A new main building , completed in 1940 with Works Progress Administration funds , joined the gymnasium and auditorium into a single building and an unusually large facility for a rural school . School buildings from Bruce , Pleasant View and Cottonwood were moved here as part of the new construction .
Godley School housed all grades until 1967 when a new elementary school was built . After 1984 the school became a middle school , then an intermediate school in 2000 . The Godley School consists of one-story wings connecting a two-story main building and an auditorium and gymnasium in a modified rectangular plan . The exterior is clad with native stone in a giraffe rock pattern . Dark brick is laid in a stack bond variation , with alternating runners and stretchers . Multi-pane windows and Spanish Colonial-style entries are also prominent .
Godley Chamber Guide 13