Gatesville, Texas

Gatesville is a city in and the county seat of Coryell County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,135 at the 2020 census. The city has five of the nine prisons and state jails for women operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The Patrick O'Daniel Unit (formerly Mountain View Unit), has the state's death row for women.

Gatesville is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area.

Geography

The city is located northeast of the center of Coryell County on the east side of the Leon River, part of the Brazos River watershed.

The city is from Waco. It is midway between Austin and Fort Worth.

U.S. Route 84 runs through the city, leading east to Waco and west to Goldthwaite. Texas State Highway 36 passes through the eastern side of the city, leading northwest to Hamilton and southeast to Temple.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Gatesville has a total area of , of which , or 0.05%, is covered by water.

Climate

Gatesville has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with long, hot summers and short, mild winters.

History

left|thumb|City in 1884

Gatesville was established in 1854 on land donated by Richard G. Grant (. The name was taken from Fort Gates, which had been established in 1849 approximately five miles to the west. This line later became the core of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, commonly known as the Cotton Belt.

Over the course of the evening of March 16th and morning of March 17th, 2026, a fire destroyed several wooden buildings, built in the early 20th century, in downtown Gatesville. Among these buildings included the Gatesville Messenger and Star-Forum, the city's only newspaper for over 100 years, as well as a furniture store that has been in operation for even longer. Along with three minor injuries, the fire destroyed decades of undigitized archives held within the Messenger's building.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Gatesville had a population of 16,135 people, 3,330 households, and 1,151 families residing in the city. The median age was 38.6 years, 13.7% of residents were under the age of 18, and 9.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. There were 76.8 males for every 100 females and 73.1 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

92.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 7.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,330 households in Gatesville, of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.0% were married-couple households, 17.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 9,894 || 61.3%

| Black or African American || 2,605 || 16.1%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 93 || 0.6%

| Asian || 105 || 0.7%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 15 || 0.1%

| Some other race || 2,477 || 15.4%

| Two or more races || 946 || 5.9%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 3,604 || 22.3%

2000 census

As of the census

Prisons

Gatesville is the home of several prisons operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, including the Patrick O'Daniel Unit, which houses the women's death row. Gatesville is located on the northern edge of Fort Hood, and as such is also dependent on the military for a part of its economy (besides Fort Hood, a large military vehicle repair facility is located on the east side of town).

As of 2012, the prisons in the Gatesville area employ 2,600 people. Most of the employees live in Coryell County. Timothy F. Orwig (born 1949) of the Cove Herald said, "Correctional officers in gray uniforms have been a common sight in the town's businesses for years, and the job of a 'prison boss' was once a highly regarded career choice in Gatesville."

Gatesville has a public library.

Parks and recreation

Since 2000, the Prison Boss Cookoff, a barbecue competition that serves as a fundraiser for the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation, has been held every year. Orwig described it as "a family gathering of prison workers."

As of 2014, the Last Drive-In Picture Show in Gatesville, opened by Gene Palmer in 1955 — and, as of 2004, owned by his son, Audie Gene Palmer (1957–2004) — was one of 17 remaining drive-in theaters in Texas; of those 17, it is one of oldest and longest continuously running.

The Gatesville High School Hornets were the 2000 Texas UIL 4A high-school football champions.

Notable people

William Blankenship (born 1928), opera tenor
Bart Bryant (born 1962), professional golfer
Cotton Davidson (1931–2022), former AFL and NFL quarterback
Dan Edwards (1926–2001), professional football player
Mary Beth Harrell (born 1956), regional TV talk-show host and former prosecutor for the City of Temple
Taurean Henderson (born 1983), former NFL football player
David Holt (born 1946), musician
Jim Miller (1866–1909), outlaw who lived on the Plum Ranch, outside of Gatesville
Frank S. Page, pastor
J. D. Sheffield (born 1960), physician and state legislator
Benny Thomasson (1909–1984), Texas fiddler
Bulldog Turner (1919–1998), NFL football player
Mike Weaver (born 1951), former WBA boxer

References

External links

Gatesville Chamber of Commerce