In 1883, Ezekiel Wilder bought farmland on the planned railway of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway south of Blendon, Kansas. It was about west of Wichita. There, he built the town of Goddard. It was named after J. F. Goddard, former third vice-president of the ATSF Railway. The railroad reached Goddard in 1884. A post office was built there the same year. Several buildings were moved from Blendon, including the town hall and the planned Methodist church. Goddard was officially incorporated in 1910.