Gouldsboro, PA

Gouldsboro is a census-designated place and small village in the northern Pocono Mountains, split between Lehigh Township in Wayne County and Coolbaugh Township in Monroe County. The 2020 census counted 713 residents. Pennsylvania Route 507 is the through road, with Gouldsboro State Park around the village and Tobyhanna State Park, state game lands, and the Pocono rail corridor nearby.

The town’s name comes from railroad financier Jay Gould, and the rail line remains the clearest clue to its older economy. From about 1900 to 1936, ice was cut from Gouldsboro and Tobyhanna lakes, stored in large buildings, and shipped in refrigerated railcars to cities along the East Coast. Gouldsboro Lake later became the center of the state park, which opened in 1958 and now covers 2,880 acres with a 250-acre lake. The lake has its own boating rules, including a ban on gas-powered boats. Gouldsboro is a small two-county village where railroad history and public land share the same map.