Gainesville, Texas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gainesville, Texas
City
Downtown Gainesville
Motto(s):  "Totally Texas, All American"
Location of Gainesville, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Cooke
Area
• Total	19.33 sq mi (50.07 km2)
• Land	19.30 sq mi (50.00 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.07 km2)
Elevation	761 ft (232 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	17,394
• Density	901.2/sq mi (347.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	76240-76241
Area code(s)	940
FIPS code	48-27984
GNIS feature ID	2410559

Gainesville is a city in Cooke County, Texas, United States. It is also the main city, or county seat, of Cooke County. In 2020, about 17,394 people lived there. Gainesville is part of the Texoma region, which is where Texas and Oklahoma meet. It is an important place for businesses that deal with farming and ranching.

History of Gainesville

Gainesville was started in 1850. It was built on a piece of land about 40 acres wide, given by Mary E. Clark. The first people who lived there called their new town "Liberty." But this name did not last long because another town in Texas was already called Liberty.

One of the first settlers in Cooke County, Colonel William Fitzhugh, suggested a new name. He thought the town should be named after General Edmund P. Gaines. General Gaines was a United States general whom Fitzhugh had served under. Gaines had supported the Texas Revolution.

The town started to grow when the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach arrived in September 1858. This stagecoach brought goods, people, and mail. During the American Civil War, Gainesville faced a difficult time. A controversial event, known as the Great Hanging at Gainesville, involved a trial and the hanging of 40 people suspected of supporting the Union. This event caused a lot of tension in the area.

After the Civil War, Gainesville grew quickly. This was because the cattle industry in Texas was expanding. Gainesville is only about 7 miles from the Oklahoma border. It became a place where cowboys could get supplies when they were moving cattle north to Kansas. Businesses in Gainesville made a lot of money from these cattle drives.

Within 20 years, the number of people living in Gainesville grew from a few hundred to more than 2,000. Gainesville officially became a city on February 17, 1873. By 1890, it was a major place for trade and shipping for local ranchers and farmers.

In the late 1870s, two big changes happened in North Texas. One of these was the invention of barbed wire. In 1875, Henry B. Sanborn came to Texas. He was a salesperson for a company that made barbed wire. He chose Gainesville as one of the first places to sell this new wire. He sold the first rolls of barbed wire in Texas to a hardware store in Gainesville.

World War II had a huge effect on Cooke County. Camp Howze, an army training camp, was built on some of the best farmland. Building the camp helped Cooke County recover from the Great Depression by creating many jobs. The number of people in the county doubled, and the area became very busy.

In recent years, tourism has helped Gainesville grow again. Amtrak train service returned on June 14, 1999. This brought Gainesville back to one of the ways it first grew and became successful. In the early 1990s, Gainesville had 600 businesses and about 14,587 people. By 2020, the population was 17,394.

Cooke County Courthouse

Gainesville has a beautiful courthouse built in 1910. It has an octagonal (eight-sided) rotunda at the top with stained glass. The courthouse was designed in the Beaux Arts style. It also has some features from the Prairie Style and ideas from a famous architect named Louis Sullivan. Inside, the courthouse has black and white marble floors and a tall open space in the center. A stained glass skylight is under the tower. The courthouse is currently being fixed up.

Camp Howze and World War II

Gainesville was once home to Camp Howze. This was one of the biggest training centers for soldiers during World War II. Today, only a few parts of the camp are left, and they are on private land.

People of Gainesville

2020 Census Information

In 2020, there were 17,394 people living in Gainesville. There were 6,106 households and 4,105 families.

Education in Gainesville

Gainesville Independent School District

The city has its own school system called the Gainesville Independent School District. It includes:

• Gainesville Head Start (for toddlers and preschoolers)
• Thomas A. Edison Elementary (Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st grade)
• W. E. Chalmers Elementary (2nd to 4th grades)
• Gainesville Intermediate (5th to 6th grades)
• Gainesville Junior High School (7th to 8th grades)
• Gainesville High School (9th to 12th grades)

Gainesville High School has won many awards in sports and academics. The varsity basketball team won the State Championship in 2002. The varsity football team won the State Championship in 2003. Some famous athletes from the school include Darcel McBath and Kevin Mathis, who both played in the NFL. The high school is also known for doing well in academic competitions.

Higher Education Opportunities

North Central Texas College Administration and Student Services Building

North Central Texas College (NCTC) has its main campus in Gainesville. It is a community college system with five campuses. The college serves Cooke County and has locations in several nearby towns. NCTC started in 1924 as Gainesville Junior College. It is the oldest community college in Texas that has been open continuously.

NCTC is well-known for its growing health-sciences programs. It offers help like writing and math labs to support students. You can study to become a certified nursing assistant, a registered nurse, an emergency medical technician, or a radiology technician.

The NCTC Lion/Lady Lion Athletics teams play in the National Junior College Athletic Association. They have teams for baseball, softball, volleyball, and women's tennis. The NCTC Lion baseball team won the national championship in 2001.

Economy and Jobs

Gainesville is home to Safran Seats USA LLC ("SSUSA"). This company designs and makes seats for commercial airplanes. It started as Weber Aircraft, LLC, in 1968. Later, it became part of Zodiac Aerospace, and then Safran bought Zodiac Aerospace in 2018. Safran is a large French company that makes aircraft engines and aerospace parts.

SSUSA has always been one of the biggest makers of airplane seats in the world. It also holds many patents for new products created by its employees. With about 1,500 employees in 2019, SSUSA is the largest employer in Gainesville and Cooke County. The company also has offices near Boeing factories in Washington and South Carolina, and near an Airbus factory in Germany.

Even though most types of gambling are not allowed in Texas, Gainesville is often linked to it. This is because it is very close to WinStar World Casino. The casino is less than 10 miles north of Gainesville, across the Red River in Oklahoma. It has grown a lot and is now one of the largest casinos in the world. It is over a mile long and has four hotel towers, a convention center, and a venue called Lucas Oil Live. This venue hosts popular music acts and comedians. It also has an 18-hole golf course. Before the WinStar hotel was built, many casino visitors stayed in hotels in Gainesville. The casino's convention center will host World Series of Poker tournaments in the future.

Gainesville also has a large outlet mall called the Gainesville Factory Shops. This mall used to attract shoppers from North Texas and southern Oklahoma. It was built in the mid-1990s as a shopping destination. However, by 2016, very few stores were left. In 2018, the property reopened as Market Days at Liberty Crossing. It is now a multi-use space that hosts a monthly market and several retail shops.

Geography of Gainesville

Gainesville is located a little east of the center of Cooke County. The city covers about 49.3 square kilometers (19.0 square miles). Most of this area is land, with a small amount of water.

The town is where two major roads meet: U.S. Route 82 (east/west) and Interstate 35 (north/south). It is a town outside the main Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It is about 71 miles north of Dallas and 65 miles north of Fort Worth. Gainesville is also part of the Texoma region.

Here are some nearby towns and cities:

Public Library

The public library for Cooke County, called Cooke County Library, was first started in 1903. The library is located in Gainesville.

Parks, Fun, and Tourism

Gainesville has a zoo, a historic train station, and a large soccer complex. There is a miniature steam engine passenger train in Leonard Park. This train is one-quarter the size of a real train. It can carry up to 50 people for tours around the park. Leonard Park also has a large wooden playground that was made bigger in 1999. It is near the entrance to the Frank Buck Zoo. Gainesville also offers year-round adult softball, sand volleyball, and indoor basketball leagues.

Medal of Honor Park

City parks include:

• BP Douglas Park
• Edison Park
• Forsythe Transportation Skate Park
• Gainesville Tennis Court Area
• Georgia Davis Park
• Heritage Park North
• Heritage Park South
• Home Grown Hero Walking Trail
• Jaycee Park
• Keneteso Park
• Leonard Park
• Medal of Honor Park
• Moffett Park
• Pecan Creek Park
• Washington Park

Annual Events in Gainesville

• Every April, Gainesville hosts a special event for people who have received the Medal of Honor. There is a formal dinner and a parade through the city. The Medal of Honor Host City Program pays for these heroes to travel and stay in Gainesville. The recipients visit schools and public events to talk about their service to the country.
• Depot Day: In October, Gainesville has a train-themed carnival.

Media and News

Newspapers

Gainesville Daily Register building

• Gainesville Daily Register
• Weekly News of Cooke County

Radio Stations

• KGAF – 1580 AM & FM 92.3
• KPFC – 91.9 FM (Camp Sweeney)
• KZMJ – 94.5 FM (Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex)

Television

Gainesville can receive TV signals from Sherman and Ada. This includes an OETA translator from Ardmore, Oklahoma. With a strong outdoor antenna, you can also get stations from Dallas.

Transportation Options

Train Travel

Santa Fe depot

Gainesville has a historic train station. It is served by Amtrak's Heartland Flyer train. This train runs every day between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.

Airport Services

Gainesville has the Gainesville Municipal Airport. This airport is owned by the public and supported by the city. It was created after the Camp Howze Army Airfield was given to the City of Gainesville when Camp Howze closed. The airport is used by all types of general aviation aircraft. It also hosts the Texas Antique Airplane Association's yearly fly-in event.

Roads and Highways

The main highways in Gainesville are:

• U.S. Route 82
• Interstate 35

Some parts of Interstate 35 through Gainesville do not have frontage roads (smaller roads next to the highway). Frontage roads near the U.S. 82 overpass were added in 2012. At that time, the overpass was also made wider to include U-turn lanes.

Famous People from Gainesville

• Lew Allen, a U.S. Air Force four-star general and former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force.
• Gene Austin, a singer and songwriter, was born in Gainesville.
• Norfleet Giddings Bone, a landscape architect and civil engineer, was born in Gainesville.
• Rod Brown, a football player for Oklahoma State University.
• Frank Buck, an American hunter, animal collector, and author.
• Alex Cord, an actor and horse rancher in Cooke County.
• Robert Fuller, an actor and horse rancher in Cooke County.
• Glen Monroe Henry, a circus performer.
• Kevin Mathis, a former NFL cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys.
• Darcel McBath, an NFL safety, who played for the Denver Broncos.
• Charley Paddock, an Olympic sprinter who won gold in 1920.
• Jim Rayburn, who started the Christian youth organization Young Life.
• Aurelian Smith, Jr., known as Jake "The Snake" Roberts, a professional wrestler.
• Russel "Red" Stegall, a singer and songwriter, was born in Gainesville.

Images for kids

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  Turner Hotel (Apartments)

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  St.Pauls Episcopal Church

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  First Baptist Church Building

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  Old Flour Mill Building

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  First United Methodist Church

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  Westminster Presbyterian Church

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  Downtown Gainesville

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  Old Fire Station

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  Cooke County Courthouse

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  Downtown Gainesville

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  Santa Fe Depot

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  First Presbyterian Church

See also

In Spanish: Gainesville (Texas) para niños