HISTORY OF GAINESVILLE

Gainesville, Texas is located on Interstate 35, 7 miles south of the Oklahoma border and the crossroad of Hwy 82 and I-35. Our location has been an important part of our heritage. It begins in 1850 when Gainesville was designated the county seat of Cooke County and Gainesville stood as an important way station for the many caravans of Conestoga wagons bound westward along the southern California Trail. The town received a boost when the Butterfield Overland Company initiated a new southern stage route that passed through Gainesville. Economic recovery in the decade following the Civil War depended upon cattle and Gainesville was strategically situated between two major cattle routes: the Chisholm Trail to the West and the Sedalia Trail to the East. The town was the last stop before crossing the Red River into Indian Territory. During this time Gainesville became an important hub of commerce and one of the most significant cattle towns in the entire state. By the early 1880's the local banks held millions of dollars deposited by cattle barons from all over North Texas. With the cowboys also came a sordid side of saloons and brothels.

In the late 1870's two factors drastically altered the landscape of Gainesville. The first spool of barbed wire sold in Texas was sold in Gainesville. Barbed wire led to the end of the great northern trail drives. Thankfully close behind was the arrival of the railroad, thus signaling the end of one phase of history and the beginning of another. By 1890 Gainesville was connected by rail from Galveston to Chicago and it emerged as one of the most important cattle shipping towns in all of North Texas.

It was during this period that a building boom occurred. Today Gainesville still boasts a large neighborhood of Victorian homes from this era whose inventory of brick Victorian homes is second only to Galveston. The historic commercial district has slowly and lovingly been restored with several buildings whose upstairs space is still in its original state. More than 240 buildings have been designated as historic within the city limits.

Ever resilient Gainesville went from 40 saloons to zero when the local citizens opted not to allow alcohol, this prior to prohibition. The population began to decline. That all changed on November 9th, 1924 when the Big Indian Oil Derrick in Callisburg spewed forth a blast of oil that shot over 100 feet into the air. By 1949 over 1700 producing wells had yielded more than 51,000,000 barrels of oil.

The Great Depression left its mark in Gainesville when a local theater group that was in financial distress decided to hold a circus to raise funds. What developed was the Gainesville Community Circus. Comprised of Gainesville residents who volunteered, by 1936 the Community Circus was hailed as one of the greatest in the nation and featured in the Saturday Evening Post and Reader's Digest. At its peak, more than 50,000 spectators packed into Fort Worth's Will Rogers Coliseum to witness the famous traveling troupe in 1937. Throughout the show world Gainesville was known as the town of a thousand trapezes. Performances continued until 1958 when the introduction of television caused decline in spectator attendance.

While many cities were struggling during World War II, Gainesville residents were fortunate to be the site of an army infantry-training center. Construction of Camp Howze began in 1942 effectively doubling the population. There were 25 movie theaters open all day and it is said that there were lines of couples around the courthouse waiting to be married. This was a short-lived boost, as by 1946 Gainesville was transitioning back to a peacetime economy and the army disbanded and dismantled the camp.

The event historians know best is the Great Hanging during the Civil War. This is still a sensitive subject within the community. Cooke County was one of only 22 counties that voted against succession when the state overwhelming voted to separate. What remained was a divided community. Passive resistance to Confederate government developed into open defiance after the Confederate Conscription Act was enacted. A secret fraternal order known as the Union League evolved in support of the return of Union government in North Texas. Hysterical fear of a secret plot by the league combined with the possibility that the threat had been exaggerated in order to purge the county of all Union sympathizers led to forty-two men executed. In the end a number of innocent men died along with the guilty. This tragic chapter in Gainesville history was symptomatic of an entire nation torn apart by civil war, of a time when death was common and people were temporarily governed by fear and hatred.

This rich tapestry of history is preserved in Gainesville through the efforts of its citizens. With dedication to the preservation of historic buildings and the private and public commitment of funds to do so, Gainesville builds upon this foundation by chronicling the personal stories and legacies that bring our history to life.

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