Cooke County is a county in Texas, United States, on the Oklahoma state line in the region locally called Texoma. It had a population of 41,668 at the 2020 census and covers 898 square miles (2,326 km2), of which 24 square miles are water, centred near 33°38′N 97°13′W.
Gainesville is the county seat, and its postal code is 76240. The county has 5 incorporated cities, 2 towns, 2 census-designated places and about two dozen smaller unincorporated communities. Cooke County sits in the Central Time zone, and its FIPS code is 097.
Towns & Villages in Cooke County
Around 30 named places appear on maps of Cooke County, split between 5 incorporated cities, 2 incorporated towns, 2 census-designated places (CDPs) and a long list of unincorporated crossroads communities that carry no municipal government of their own.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gainesville | City · seat | 16,559 | 76240 / 76241 |
| Valley View | City | 842 | 76272 |
| Muenster | City | 1,619 | 76252 |
| Lindsay | City | 1,010 | 76250 |
| Callisburg | City | 375 | 76240 |
| Oak Ridge | Town | 328 | — |
| Road Runner | Town | 26 | — |
| Lake Kiowa | CDP | 2,884 | 76240 |
| Myra | CDP | 413 | 76253 |
| Era | Unincorp. | — | 76238 |
| Rosston | Unincorp. | — | 76263 |
| Balm | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bloomfield | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bulcher | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Burns City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Coesfield | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cook | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Custer City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dexter | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Freemound | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hemming | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Leo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lois | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Marysville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mountain Springs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Prairie Point | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shady Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sivells Bend | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sturgeon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Walnut Bend | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Woodbine | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 76240 — Gainesville (also serves Callisburg, Lake Kiowa)
- 76241 — Gainesville (PO Box addresses)
- 76272 — Valley View
- 76252 — Muenster
- 76250 — Lindsay
- 76238 — Era
- 76253 — Myra (PO Box addresses)
- 76263 — Rosston
Smaller unincorporated communities such as Bulcher, Dexter and Woodbine use the ZIP code of the nearest post office town rather than one of their own.
Geography
Cooke County sits at the northern edge of the North Central Texas Plains, cut by the upper reaches of the Elm Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River. Lake Ray Roberts touches the county’s southeastern corner and Lake Kiowa forms a private, gated community around its own reservoir near Gainesville. The terrain rolls from blackland prairie in the east to the Western Cross Timbers, a belt of post oak and blackjack oak woodland, in the west.
Cooke County borders Love County, Oklahoma to the north across the Red River; Grayson County to the east; Denton County to the south; Wise County to the southwest; and Montague County to the west.
Demographics
The 2020 census counted 41,668 residents, up from earlier decades’ totals. Gainesville, the county seat, is by far the largest community at 16,559 people, followed by Lake Kiowa’s 2,884. Median household income in Cooke County runs somewhat below the Texas median of $75,780. Population density is about 46 people per square mile, concentrated around Gainesville and Muenster with the rest of the county sparsely settled farm and ranch land.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture remains central to Cooke County’s economy — cattle ranching, wheat, and hay across its blackland and cross-timbers land. Gainesville anchors retail, healthcare and light manufacturing for the county, and North Central Texas College, a two-year public college, is headquartered there. Muenster, settled by German Catholic immigrants in the 1880s, still holds an annual Germanfest each April celebrating that heritage. Interstate 35 traffic between the Dallas–Fort Worth area and Oklahoma supports truck stops, hospitality and warehousing along the corridor.
History
Cooke County was organized in 1848 from Fannin County territory and named for William Gordon Cooke, a soldier and Secretary of War of the Republic of Texas who died before the county’s creation. Gainesville was laid out as the county seat the following year. During the Civil War the county was the site of the Great Hanging at Gainesville in October 1862, when a Confederate-aligned “citizens court” executed dozens of Unionist residents — one of the largest mass hangings in United States history. German and Czech immigrants settled Muenster and Lindsay later in the 19th century, and their descendants’ parishes still shape those towns’ civic life today.
Getting There
Interstate 35 runs north–south through the county, crossing into Oklahoma at the Red River just north of Gainesville; U.S. Highway 82 crosses east–west and U.S. Highway 377 serves the county’s southwestern edge.
- Denton — 40 miles south
- Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport — 60 miles south
- Sherman — 30 miles east
- Ardmore, Oklahoma — 30 miles north
The nearest commercial airport is Dallas–Fort Worth International, reached via Interstate 35.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Cooke County?
It sits in North Texas on the Red River and the Oklahoma state line, part of the Texoma region north of the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
What is the population of Cooke County?
41,668 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Cooke County?
898 square miles (2,326 km2), including 24 square miles of water.
What is the county seat of Cooke County?
Gainesville is the county seat.
How many towns are in Cooke County?
5 incorporated cities, 2 incorporated towns and 2 census-designated places, plus roughly two dozen unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Cooke County?
Eight ZIP codes serve the county, led by 76240 for Gainesville; see the ZIP Codes section above.
What is Cooke County known for?
The Great Hanging at Gainesville in 1862, Muenster’s German Catholic heritage and annual Germanfest, and Lake Kiowa’s private lakeside community.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.