COOKE COUNTY
County Offices
100 South Dixon
Gainsville 940-668-5420
https://www.co.cooke.tx.us/
Chamber of Commerce
101 South Culberson Street
Gainesville 940-665-2831
https://gainesvillechamber.com/
Services
Anchored by the county seat and leading City of Gainesville, Cook County brings first-rate services and amenities to the pleasures of small-town living. Residents are able to access state-of-the-art healthcare services at North Texas Medical Center, formerly Gainsville Memorial Hospital. The name change is appropriate for the expanding scope of the new high-tech facility that provides advanced and routine care throughout the north-central region. Outpatient rehabilitation, a dialysis cottage, and care clinics in Lake Kiowa and Valley View are included in the support network for the acute-care hospital. Muenster Memorial Hospital adds to the options for quality care in a personalized community hospital environment.
Progressive school districts and opportunities for a private education combine with the presence of a two-year college to meet a wide spectrum of education needs close to home. Distinguished as the oldest two-year college in Texas, North Central Texas College in Gainesville offers a selection of degree and career programs in two divisions. The Arts & Sciences Division is primarily geared toward transfer to a four-year institution, while the Applied Sciences Division focuses on technical programs. Residents of the community benefit from the expanded resources available on campus, as well as the cultural enrichment provided by artistic, social, and cultural events.
Lifestyle
The living is truly easy in Cooke County, a region that harmonizes acres of open space with welcoming small communities and beautiful lakefront properties. Newcomers will feel as if they are stepping back in time to a friendlier, warmer setting where neighbors wave hello and shopkeepers know their customers by name. Individuals and families can make a real difference in the county’s intimate towns and communities. Volunteerism runs high, and school and church events play an important role in daily life. At the same time, residents enjoy the finest services that high technology and a commitment to excellence can provide.
Exciting shopping opportunities are waiting in the heart of Victorian Gainesville, from modern stores to wonderful antique malls and specialty shops. Many of the highly developed resources at North Central Texas College are available to the public for research, recreation, and enjoyment. Recitals, concerts, lectures, special guests, exhibits, and stage productions are all part of the college calendar of special events. In smaller towns like Muenster, colorful festivals celebrate the area’s proud past and cultural roots. Golf courses, sports courts and fields, swimming pools, bike trails, water sports, and lake fishing are just a few of the recreational facilities and pastimes. Those who want to escape into the tranquility of the country in close proximity to the world-class Metroplex resources will find the ideal home in Cooke County.
Gainesville
City Hall
940-668-4500
www.gainesville.tx.us
Chamber of Commerce
940-665-2831
https://gainesvillechamber.com/
Although Gainesville is home to less than 20,000 residents, the city serves as a commercial, educational, and cultural hub for the surrounding small towns and countryside population centers. Known for its warm Texan hospitality and country flavor, the city also provides advanced services that include a regional acute-care hospital and highly respected, comprehensive two-year college. Nestled in a valley just south of the Rolling Red River, Gainesville enjoys efficient links to the Metroplex and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Fine museums, antique malls and boutiques, lush parks, community theater, educational zoo facilities, and colorful local festivals are among the lost list of attractions. The city is ideally located at the crossroads of Interstate Highway 35 and US Highway 82.
Lake Kiowa
County Offices
940-668-5420
https://www.lkpoa.org/
Chamber of Commerce
940-665-2831
https://gainesvillechamber.com/
Panoramic and invigorating, the unincorporated population center of Lake Kiowa is home to a growing population of more than 2,500. Vacationers, seasonal visitors, and permanent residents are drawn to the privacy of a gated community surrounded by crystal waters under bright blue skies. The privately enclosed 563-acre lake stretches for two miles, fed by Indian Creek and its hillside streams. Even the utility service lines in this area remain underground to protect the pristine views. Lake Kiowa is an angler’s paradise, although the 18-hole championship golf course is equally popular. The community offers a commercial area and club house in a prime location just minutes from Gainesville’s array of shops, medical facilities, schools, and churches.
Muenster
City Hall
940-759-2236
https://cityofmuenstertx.org/
Chamber of Commerce
940-665-2831
https://gainesvillechamber.com/
Distinctive in its proud German heritage, Muenster is a rural community with approximately 2,500 residents. Agricultural activity and manufacturing play important roles in the local economy, producing everything from sausage and strudel to metal and lingerie. Tourism is a growing industry, driven by the town’s reputation for outstanding ethnic cuisine and award-winning meat markets. Visitors can enjoy Texas hospitality while they sample the schnitzel, bratwurst, and kraut. As you might expect, Muenster residents are hard-working people who preserve traditional values and enjoy the close-knit atmosphere of a small town. Recreational activities include swimming, tennis, softball, volleyball, or exploring the open space for dirt-biking, four-wheeling and jeeping. Rodeos, festivals, an 18-hole golf course, community suppers, and art shows are just a few of the events that bring neighbors and families together.
