This collection is divided into three main series: Personal, Business, and Publications.

The Personal series is arranged into subgroupings: Confidentially U.S.A., The Muckraker, Correspondence, Corruption, Court Cases, and Clippings. These are followed by folders dealing with diverse subjects. The Muckraker and Confidentially U.S.A. were Goodwin's attempt to publish his saga of corruption in the federal government. The clippings were to be included in his monographs. Goodwin's attempts at publishing failed.

The Business series of the collection is subdivided into Conditions, Correspondence, Organizations, Court Cases, Taxes, Employee Labor Records, and Problems. The latter, divided by the year of writing, consists of correspondence pertaining to Goodwin's woes.

Publications are largely divided into Michigan and U.S. government. Two monographs of potential interest are the "Lumberman's Directory" for 1893 and a 1964 report by Norman Higgins, of Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service, titled "Sawmill Study in the Southern Half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan."