Gainesville, Texas

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1902 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Gainesville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76240. The Survey maps it on the Gainesville North quadrangle. 17,394 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 751 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Gainesville within Cooke County

On record in Gainesville

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 6 records

Population over time

3 figures

Gainesville grew from 2,667 to 17,394 between 1880 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
1880	2,667
2010	16,002
2020	17,394	+1,392 (+9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1902 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
1943 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:125000
1954 USGS Sherman quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1958 USGS Sherman quadrangle1:250000
1960 USGS Gainesville North quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1985 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:100000
1991 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:100000

Fires near this place

147 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 147 fires within 5 miles of Gainesville between 2005 and 2020, burning about 770 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	63
Debris and open burning	42
Equipment and vehicle use	21
Smoking	7
Arson/incendiarism	5
Power generation/transmission/distribution	4
Natural	3
Misuse of fire by a minor	2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
28 September 2011	Debris and open burning	4.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	FM371
27 September 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	5.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	CR 122 & CR 156
24 September 2007	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	not named
19 September 2013	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	CARTWRIGHT HILL LN
16 September 2013	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	CR 154
1 September 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Texas A & M Forest Service	CR 134 & FM 371
1 September 2011	Debris and open burning	3.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	CR 150
9 August 2011	Natural	10 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	FIRE ON I 35

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cooke County

Storms near this place

60 of 167 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gainesville in 167 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 75 hail, 60 thunderstorm wind, 22 flash flood, 5 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
April 2003	Hail	Gainesville	$4,000,000	Large hail damaged approximately 1,000 cars and about the same number of homes.
April 1996	Hail	Gainesville	$500,000	no account filed
April 1996	Hail	Gainesville	$300,000	no account filed
October 2019	Hail	Gainesville	$250,000	Emergency management reported three-inch diameter hail approximately one-half mile northwest of the city of Gainesville, TX.
October 2019	Hail	Gainesville	$250,000	Amateur radio reported tennis ball sized hail in the city of Gainesville, TX.
May 2013	Lightning	Gainesville	$200,000	Several fires were started by lightning on the afternoon of May 21st. Two houses suffered fire damage after lightning struck their roof. Another lightning strike destroyed a battery of oil tanks near County Road 208.
April 2024	Hail	Gainesville	$100,000	no account filed
April 2017	Hail	Gainesville	$80,000	A social media report indicated baseball sized hail in the city of Gainesville, TX.
April 2017	Hail	Gainesville	$80,000	Baseball sized hail was reported on I-35 on the south side of Gainesville.
April 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$55,000	no account filed
April 2025	Lightning	Gainesville	$50,000	Lightning struck a home in Gainesville, causing a small fire.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$50,000	The roof of the main building on the North Central Texas College campus was blown off due to high winds. A local newspaper also reported that tree damage occurred around the campus and many large tree limbs were knocked down. A house near the college had the roof of the back porch torn off and thrown onto the roof of the house, causing significant damage. At nearby Leonard Park, major tree damage occurred.
February 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$50,000	29 cars of a Burlington Northern train were blown over by high winds.
April 2017	Hail	Gainesville	$40,000	A report of half dollar hail was received.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$40,000	A heatburst from a collapsing thunderstorm in Denton County produced wind gusts up to 74 mph in the city of Gainesville. An awning was torn off a building, trees were uprooted, and two power poles were snapped in half.
May 2007	Flash Flood	Gainesville	$40,000	Two to three feet of rushing water across city streets in Gainesville resulted in several stalled vehicles and high water rescues.
March 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$25,000	Trees and power lines were blown down by high winds, and two homes had roof damage.
September 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$25,000	A mobile home was unroofed in the FRF Estates. A telephone pole was blown down and the canopy over a rodeo arena was blown off. A fence around the arena was uprooted and blown away. Some trees were also blown down.
February 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$25,000	A metal roof was blown off a business into another building. Trees and power lines were blown down.
May 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$25,000	The roof was blown off two buildings, numerous windows were blown out, a metal baseball stand was blown down, trees and power lines were blown down.
March 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$25,000	High winds damaged homes, a boat dock, and blew down trees in the Lake Kiowa area.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$20,000	Emergency management reported a roof blown off of a building and power lines down just east of Grand Ave on US Highway 82 in Gainesville.
November 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$20,000	The Gainesville Register newspaper reported that thunderstorm winds produced damage in and around the 810 East Highway 82 area in Gainesville early Tuesday Morning. The roof of Lone Star Title Loans was mangled and debris was scattered around the parking lot. The nearby Home Depot had buildings and sheds blown 10 to 15 feet from their original destinations.
April 2011	Hail	Gainesville	$20,000	Hail stones to size of oranges were reported 2 miles north of Gainesville.
April 2006	Hail	Gainesville	$20,000	Many windows were broken and cars damaged across the city due to golf ball-size hail.
April 2001	Tornado (F1)	Gainesville	$20,000	Tornado number three touched down 4 miles northwest of Gainesville. It then moved into Oklahoma, 6 miles north-northwest of Gainesville (5S Thackerville, OK). A mobile home and a storage shed were heavily damaged northwest of Gainesville.
April 2011	Hail	Gainesville	$20,000	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Gainesville	$20,000	no account filed
May 2007	Flash Flood	Gainesville	$15,000	Several cars were stranded in Gainesville with water halfway up their sides. Also, Interstate 35 was closed at the Weaver Street exit due to high water.
May 2007	Flash Flood	Gainesville	$15,000	Barricades needed for the Lake Kiowa area; water flooded at least one home.
April 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$15,000	no account filed
April 2008	Flash Flood	Gainesville	$10,000	A high water rescue was required in Gainesville and another was needed along FM 51 just south of Era. Several roads were closed in Gainesville and one in Era due to flooding. Loy Lake near Denison was also overflowing.
May 2007	Hail	Gainesville	$10,000	Golfball to baseball-size hail reported near Moss Lake.
March 2006	Hail	Gainesville	$10,000	Golf ball to baseball-size hail reported at Walnut Bend.
August 2005	Flash Flood	Gainesville	$10,000	Numerous streets flooded with several cars stranded in town.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$8,000	Large trees were knocked down on the southeast side of Gainesville.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$8,000	Thunderstorm winds damaged barns and outbuildings approximately 1 mile southeast of Gainesville.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$8,000	Business signs were blown down on Grand Avenue.
April 2011	Hail	Gainesville	$8,000	Golfball size hail was reported 2 miles northwest of Gainesville.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$7,000	Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down the awning at the Quality Inn on Medal of Honor Blvd in Gainesville. The awning damaged a car parked nearby. One person also sustained minor injuries during the storm.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$6,000	The fire department reported a 60 mph wind gust in Gainesville.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	Several signs along I-35 were damaged and blown over between the Red River and FM 372.
October 2025	Flash Flood	Gainesville	$5,000	Moss St near downtown Gainesville and the underpass of Interstate 35 near Spring Creek were closed due to flooding.
September 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds caused extensive tree branch damage at the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	Broadcast media reported structural damage to a Taco Bell in Gainesville, TX.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	Large trees were blown across roadways south of Gainesville.
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	The emergency manager reported a wind gust of 58 mph and powerlines down in the city of Gainesville.
April 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	A barn was unroofed by high winds.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	Power lines were blown down by high winds.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	A tree was blown onto a house by thunderstorm winds.
April 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	Windows were blown out by strong winds.
April 1994	Tornado (F0)	Gainesville	$5,000	A brief tornado touchdown occurred in Gainesville near the intersection of highway 82 and Interstate 35. Minor roof and tree damage was reported.
May 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds produced wind damage across Gainesville.
October 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$5,000	Telephone lines were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
April 2017	Hail	Gainesville	$4,000	Storm spotter reported quarter size hail 4 miles south/southwest of Gainesville.
February 2009	Hail	Gainesville	$3,000	Golfball size hail was reported 12 miles northwest of Gainesville.
May 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$3,000	Tree limbs were blown down.
May 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$3,000	Trees and power lines blown down.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$3,000	Trees and power lines down near the intersection of County Road 404 and Neely Trail.
November 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Gainesville	$2,000	Emergency management reported a wind gust of 66 MPH at North Central Texas College in Gainesville, TX.

Every storm recorded in Cooke County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Cook	1.0 miles	13
Lindsay	4.8 miles	13
Oak Ridge	5.3 miles	13
Custer City	5.9 miles	13
Woodbine	6.3 miles	13
Lake Kiowa	7.2 miles	13
Callisburg	8.3 miles	13
Burns City	9.3 miles	13

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Gainesville	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q979889	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1373791. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.