Cooke County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. At the 2020 census, its population was 41,668. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Gainesville. The county was founded in 1848 and organized the next year. It is named for William Gordon Cooke, a soldier during the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

. It is a part of the

Texoma Texoma is an interstate region in the United States, split between Oklahoma and Texas. The name is a portmanteau of Texas and Oklahoma. Businesses use the term in their names to describe their intended service area. This includes 8 counties with ...

region. Cooke County comprises the Gainesville, TX micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

–

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, TX- OK combined statistical area.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has an area of , of which (2.6%) are covered by water.

Major highways

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

/ U.S. Highway 77 * U.S. Highway 82 * Farm to Market Road 51

Adjacent counties

Love County, Oklahoma Love County is a county on the southern border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,146. Its county seat is Marietta. The county was created at statehood in 1907 and named for Overton Love, a prominent ...

(north) * Grayson County (east) *

Denton County Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the seventh-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was esta ...

(south) * Wise County (southwest) * Montague County (west)

Demographics

According to statistical data from 2016, Cooke County has a population of 39,141 people (41% urban, 59% rural), nearly 14,000 households, and over 10,000 families. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . The 15,061 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 88.84% White, 3.06% Black or African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 5.16% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. About 10% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the more than 14,000 households in Cooke County, 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living in the home, 59.60% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were not families; 23.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.07. The population was distributed as 27.30% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males. While 2015 estimates place the

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

for Cooke County at $53,552, past estimates showed the median household income to be $37,649, with the median family income being $44,869. Males had a median income of $32,429 and females $22,065. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $17,889. About 10.90% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 19.80% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over. Median house values in 2015 were $118,254.

Government and infrastructure

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department operates the Gainesville State School in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Cooke County, east of Gainesville.Gainesville State School
."

Texas Youth Commission The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) was a Texas state agency which operated juvenile corrections facilities in the state. The commission was headquartered in the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin. As of 2007, it was the second largest juvenile correc ...

. Retrieved August 8, 2010.

Politics

Cooke County has long voted predominantly Republican; the only Democratic presidential candidate to win Cooke County since

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

was

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, in that year's landslide over

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

. Cooke County has been included in the

Texas's 26th congressional district Texas' 26th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes rural Cooke County, Texas, Cooke County to the north and some of Wise County, Texas, Wise County to the West and includes parts of Denton County, Texas, D ...

. vote in each of the past six presidential elections, starting in 2000. Republican Drew Springer, Jr., a businessman from

Muenster Muenster may refer to: * Münster, Germany * Muenster, Saskatchewan * Muenster, Texas Muenster ( ) is a city in western Cooke County, Texas, Cooke County, Texas, United States, along U.S. Route 82 in Texas, U.S. Route 82. The population was 1,53 ...

, has represented Cooke County in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

since January 2013.

Communities

Cities

* Callisburg * Gainesville * Lindsay *

* Valley View

Towns

* Oak Ridge * Road Runner

Census-designated places

* Lake Kiowa *

Myra Myra (; , ''Mýra'') was a city in Lycia. The city was probably founded by Lycians on the river Myros (; Turkish: ''Demre Çay''), in the fertile alluvial plain between, the Massikytos range (Turkish: ''Alaca Dağ'') and the Aegean Sea. By the ...

Unincorporated communities

* Bulcher * Burns City *

Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

Era An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

Hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

Leo Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to: * Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky * Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac * Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually mas ...

Lois Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English C ...

* Marysville * Mountain Springs * Prairie Point * Rosston * Sivells Bend *

Sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

* Walnut Bend * Woodbine

Ghost towns

* Bloomfield * Coesfield * Custer City * Freemound * Hemming

References

External links

Cooke County government's website
* {{authority control 1849 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1849