[2] First laid out in 1828, the town is named after Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich,[2] who was prime minister of the United Kingdom at the time.

[4] It has been named one of Ontario's best small towns by Comfort Life, a website for retirement living in Canada.

[7] According to the historic plaques erected by the Province, the Canada Company acquired the vast amount of land called the Huron Tract in 1826 and in 1827, under Superintendent John Galt, established its base in what would become Goderich.

In addition to Galt, another important individual was Dr. William "Tiger" Dunlop who was Warden of the Forests for the Canada Company, and helped develop the Huron Tract and later, to found Goderich.

Also noteworthy, Thomas Mercer Jones administered much of the million acre Tract and built a richly furnished mansion, Park House, in Goderich in about 1839.

[2] Town records indicate that the Huron Tract had been acquired by the government from the Chippewa First Nation and that the location of the community was based on coastal surveys completed in 1824 by Captain Bayfield.

A log cabin was erected, at the top of the hill overlooking the harbour in 1827; this building, the home of Dr. William "Tiger" Dunlop, was later referred to as "The Castle".

[11] The Smith's Canadian Gazetteer of 1846 describes Goderich as follows: It was laid out in 1827 by Mr. Galt ... the town is rather exposed to north and north west winds from the lake, in consequence of which the weather is occasionally wintry, even in the middle of summer ... Owing to its remote situation ... Goderich has not increased as fast as many other places of the same age.

"[9]The Goderich lighthouse, the first on the Canadian side of Lake Huron, opened in 1847 with a tower and the keeper's house.

The bodies of the sailors were identified and collected by a Lake Carriers' Association committee based at Goderich.

From about 1910, the sandy beach near town were also used heavily by locals and by visitors who appreciated the shallow, warm water.

[11] Early in World War II, what is now the Goderich Airport became the site of one of Canada's air training facilities; it opened in December 1939, at Sky Harbour.

A Lancaster X airplane, FM 213, was donated in the 1960s by Branch 109 Royal Canadian Legion in honour of those who died or went missing during the war.

[17] On August 9 2022, the at-the-time Mayor, John Grace, died in a boating accident in Northwestern Ontario.

The design of the square - a "radial composition" - is attributed to John Galt of the Company, inspired by ancient Roman city plans.

It is thought this rumour started when Goderich was founded, as town planners the Canada Company originally wanted their community to be called Guelph after the Royal Family; the Company eventually resigned to accepting the decisions of Superintendent John Galt to keep the name Goderich.

[22] On the afternoon of 21 August 2011, an F3[23] tornado touched down in the area, after coming ashore as a waterspout, with the mesocyclone thunderstorm cell moving across Lake Huron.

The devastating storm downed power lines, tore roofs from houses, and left cars and trees scattered along city streets.

The tornado killed one person: Norman Laberge, 61, of Lucknow, who was working on a dock associated with a salt mine on the coast of Lake Huron when the storm hit.

[25] After the tornado, the roofs of several buildings around the square had been destroyed, and the trees in the green space around the courthouse had been damaged or uprooted.

[26] A year later, 152 of the 170 downtown businesses had reopened but reconstruction of the courthouse, some historic buildings and the trees in the area took much longer.

In 1866, petroleum exploration crews found a massive ancient salt deposit about 300 metres (980 feet) under the surface.

[36] To date, 150 million tons of salt has been produced from the mine and by 2012, after recent investments, it will be able to produce 9 million tons a year[37] This all started in 1866 when prospector Sam Platt was searching for oil and instead discovered rock salt 300 metres beneath Goderich Harbour.

The mine is 530 metres (1,750 feet) below surface,[38] extending 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi) under Lake Huron - roughly the size of the town.

[37] The salt deposits at Goderich are from an ancient sea bed of Silurian age, part of the Salina Formation.

The halite rock salt is also found in Windsor, Ontario, both located on the eastern periphery of the Michigan Basin, on the southeastern shores of Lake Huron.

Tourism is also significant because many visitors spend time on the Lake Huron shore, including three beaches near Goderich, and may shop or stay overnight in town.

Of interest as well, are the man-made groynes along the beach, put in place to control sand migration from the action of water currents.

[49] Besides school teams, during the winter season, hockey is prevalent in most Canadian small towns, Goderich being no exception.

GDCI was founded in 1841, and stood at the corner of Waterloo St. and Britannia Road, until the present building was completed.