Gatesville

Gatesville, the county seat of Coryell County, is on the Leon River at the intersection of U.S. Highway 84 and State Highway 36, eighty miles north of Austin in the central part of the county. It was established on land donated by Richard G. Grant shortly after the county was organized in 1854 and took its name from nearby Fort Gates. James C. Newton became the first postmaster when the post office was established in July of that year. Gatesville was fairly isolated during the early years of its existence. Supplies had to be brought by wagon from Houston, 200 miles away. The town grew slowly in the late 1850s and little, if any, during the Civil War. Afterward, however, the town profited from the large influx of settlers moving to Texas to build new lives. In 1870 Gatesville was incorporated with a mayoral form of government; by 1880 its population had risen to 434, and it had become an important frontier supply station.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.