Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,538 people, 5,969 households, and 4,005 families residing in the city. The population density was 914.1 people per square mile (352.9/km²). There were 6,423 housing units at an average density of 377.9/sq mi (145.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.77% White, 6.00% African American, 1.33% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 9.09% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.47% of the population.

There were 5,969 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,571, and the median income for a family was $37,137. Males had a median income of $30,480 versus $21,459 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,154. About 17.0% of families and 20.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over

Historical Events
Gainesville is home to a courthouse with an octagonal rotunda topped by stained glass, erected in 1910. "The 1912 Cooke County Courthouse was designed by the Dallas firm of Lang & Witchell. The courthouse was designed in the Beaux Arts style with some Prairie Style features and influences from famed Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. The courthouse in the center of Gainesville features black and white marbled interiors and a tall central atrium capped by a stained glass skylight under the tower." The courthouse is undergoing a major renovation project, with many of the city offices moving out to other buildings to make way for the contractors to begin.

The courthouse grounds feature a towering Confederate soldier memorial, erected in the early 20th century by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), topped by a Confederate soldier facing northward, and bearing the following poetic inscription honoring Confederate casualties of war:

"God holds the scales of justice;
He will measure praise and blame;
And the South will stand the verdict,
And will stand it without shame.

Oh, home of tears, but let her bear
This blazoned to the end of time;
No nation rose so white and fair,
None fell so free of crime."

Other memorials on the courthouse grounds honor veterans of other U.S. wars.

The presence of these monuments praising the Confederacy is ironic, given that Gainesville was the site of a notorious massacre of Texans by Confederate forces. The Confederacy had promised that Texans would not be drafted to fight the United States outside Texas. When it broke this promise Confederate officials feared that Cooke County, known to be loyal to the United States, would be the site of protests and would possibly secede back to America as several counties in Tennessee already had [citation needed]. It should also be noted that, when Texans voted on secession, Cooke County residents voted against the act.

Confederate soldiers rounded up over 200 Texans, and on October 1, 1862 hanged 42 after a mock trial. This event sparked a reign of terror in which dozens of Texans suspected of being loyal to America were lynched by Confederate soldiers.

Gainesville was once home to Camp Howze, one of the largest infantry replacement training centers during World War II. Only a few remnants now exist of the camp, but now are on private property.

Gainesville is home to Morton Museum, a small museum on a mission to preserve local history.

On one of Germany's biggest commercial television station there is a weekly docu-soap about the Reimann family, which emigrated to Gainesville, Texas, in 2004. They opened a bed and breakfast business at Moss Lake in 2007.

Geography
Gainesville is located at 33°37'49?N 97°8'25?W? / ?33.63028°N 97.14028°W? / 33.63028; -97.14028.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.0 square miles (44.1 km²), of which, 17.0 square miles (44.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.18%) is water.

The town is located at the interchange of two highways, with U.S. Route 82 overpassing Interstate 35. Many businesses are on 82, with a few other exits along 35. It has several 4-lane roads. Part of Highway 82's business area is widened and paved in concrete. It has partial interstate quality with an overpass on some roads and a traffic light on others.

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