According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.3 square miles (94. km2), all of it land.

The soil of most of Goodrich is called Merrill till, except for meltwater stream sediment along the Big Rib River.

[5] The south and east edges of the six by six mile square that would become Goodrich were first surveyed in 1851 by crews working for the U.S. government.

In December 1861 a different crew of surveyors marked all the section corners in the township, walking through the woods and swamps, measuring with chain and compass.

[6][7] When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description: The surface of this Township is mostly gently rolling and the Soil is principally 2nd Rate being well adapted to agricultural purposes.

To finance this undertaking, the railroad was granted half the land for eighteen miles on either side of the track laid - generally the odd-numbered sections.

[9] An 1880 map of the area shows some sort of road entering what would become Goodrich from the Medford side, following the course of modern Highway 64 for two miles, then angling south into Marathon County.

In contrast, lands nearer the railroad at Medford, Stetsonville and Chelsea were fully settled by this time.

The predecessor of highway 64 had been extended another mile to a community of Goodrich, with a sawmill and a school on the map, and a railroad entering from the south.

Large chunks still remained unsettled, mostly owned by the Rib River Land Co.[14] As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 510 people, 188 households, and 144 families residing in the town.