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 of

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

Major highways

* Interstate 35/ U.S. Highway 77 * U.S. Highway 82 * Farm to Market Road 51

Adjacent counties

* Love County, Oklahoma (north) * Grayson County (east) * Denton County (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. 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 in 1964, 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. vote in each of the past six presidential elections, starting in 2000. Republican Drew Springer, Jr., a businessman from Muenster, has represented Cooke County in the Texas House of Representatives since January 2013.

Communities

Cities

* Callisburg * Gainesville * Lindsay * Muenster * Valley View

Towns

* Oak Ridge * Road Runner

Census-designated places

* Lake Kiowa * Myra

Unincorporated communities

* Bulcher * Burns City * Dexter * Era * Hood * Leo *

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 * 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