Gainesville station (Texas)

The Great Hanging at Gainesville was the execution by hanging of 41 suspected Unionists (men loyal to the United States) in Gainesville, Texas, in October 1862 during the American Civil War. Confederate troops shot two additional suspects trying to escape. Confederate troops captured and arrested some 150–200 men in and near Cooke County at a time when numerous North Texas citizens opposed the new law on conscription. Many suspects were tried by a "Citizens' Court" organized by a Confederate military officer. It made up its own rules for conviction and had no status under state law. Although only 11% of county households enslaved people, seven of the 12 men on the jury were enslavers. The suspects were executed one or two at a time. After several men had been convicted and executed, mob pressure built against the remaining suspects. The jury gave the mob 14 names, and these men were lynched without trial. After being acquitted, another 19 men were returned to court and convicted with no new evidence; they were hanged, all largely because of mob pressure. Most of the victims were Cooke County residents. This is claimed to have been the largest mass hanging in United States history. The Confederate and state courts ended the Citizens Court activities; President Davis dismissed General Paul Octave Hébert as military commander of the state, but Confederate military abuses continued in North Texas. A privately organized, annual memorialization of the hangings has been held since 2007. The Cooke County Heritage Society planned a formal commemoration in 2012 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Great Hanging. They canceled it when the mayor objected, but a private event brought together descendants of several victims at a family reunion organized with speakers to discuss the event. In 2014, a memorial was erected near the execution site to commemorate the event and its victims.

Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. Its population was 17,394 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Texoma region and is an important Agri-business center.

The Cooke County Library is a public library serving the population of Cooke County, Texas. The library is located in Gainesville, Texas.

Frank Buck Zoo is a small zoo founded in 1930 and located in the 30 acres (12.1 ha) Leonard Park in Gainesville, Texas, United States. The zoo started as the Gainesville Community Circus in 1930. It is home to more than 130 animals.

North Central Texas College (NCTC) is a public community college in Gainesville, Texas. It serves Cooke County, Denton County, and Montague County, Texas.

Gainesville High School is a public high school located in Gainesville, Texas, United States. It is part of the Gainesville Independent School District located in north central Cooke County and classified as a 4A-Division 1 school by the UIL. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.

The Gainesville State School is a juvenile correctional facility of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department in unincorporated Cooke County, Texas, near Gainesville. The fenced, maximum security state school is located on a 160-acre (65 ha) tract east of Gainesville, 75 miles (121 km) north of Dallas, along Farm to Market Road 678 and near Interstate 35. Gainesville is a maximum security facility and is fenced. As of 2012 it is the largest juvenile correctional facility in Texas. As of 2012 it houses 270 teenagers. Many of them are 17 and 18 years old.

Gainesville Municipal Airport (IATA: GLE, ICAO: KGLE, FAA LID: GLE) is three miles west of Gainesville, in Cooke County, Texas.

Lindsay is a primarily German Catholic city in Cooke County, Texas, United States, along U.S. Route 82. The population was 1,018 at the 2010 census, up from 788 at the 2000 census. It was estimated at 1,113 in 2018.

Cooke County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. At the 2020 census, its population was 41,668. The county seat 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. It is a part of the Texoma region. Cooke County comprises the Gainesville, TX micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Dallas–Fort Worth, TX-OK combined statistical area.

St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church is a historic church on Ash Street in Lindsay, Cooke County, Texas. It was built in 1903 and added to the National Register in 1979. At first appearance, you would think that this is a stone church, much like the German immigrants that founded Lindsay would have attended in their home country. On closer examination, it is carefully painted (and maintained) wood. The church is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth.

Lindsay High School or Lindsay Secondary School is a public high school located in Lindsay, Texas, in Cooke County (USA) and classified as a 2A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Lindsay Independent School District located in west central Cooke County. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.