Gatesville is a city in and the county seat of Coryell County in Central
Texas, United States of America. The population was
15,591 at the 2000 census. The city has five of the eight prisons and state jails for women operated by the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and one of the facilities, the Mountain View Unit, has the state's death row for women.
Gatesville is home to the Mitchell Collection that is said to be the largest spur collection in the world and earned Gatesville the title "Spur Capital of
Texas", as well as one of the last fully operational, full-time drive-in theaters in
Texas.
In 2000, The Gatesville Hornets won the
Texas State 3A High School Football Championship.
Former President George W.
Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch is less than 25 miles northeast of Gatesville in nearby McLennan County.
The Leon River runs past Gatesville and crosses under Main Street (U.S. 84) on the west end of town.