Artifacts, such as skeletal remains, arrowheads, and other stone tools, have been found along local creek beds and valley floors.

The powerful Comanche controlled a vast stretch of land to the north and west, making Coryell County a hostile battleground as settlers moved into the area.

In 1825, Mexico provided Stephen F. Austin with a land grant encompassing a large area including present-day Copperas Cove.

Substantial settlement did not arrive until the development of the cattle industry during the 1870s, when a feeder route of the Chisholm Trail was cut through the region.

Copperas Cove's fortunes were greatly improved when, in 1882, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway expanded into the region.

Local resident Jesse M. Clements lobbied to obtain train service and provided the railroad company with the necessary right-of-way about two miles northeast of town.

The train depot at Copperas Cove served as the shipping point for farmers and ranchers in the area between Cowhouse Creek and the Lampasas River.

Businesses opened to provide services for these area residents, including a steam gristmill-cotton gin, three hotels, a barber shop, and an opera house.

The town continued to prosper over the coming years, depending largely on local agriculture, of which cotton played a dominant role.

The population continued to increase rapidly, reaching almost 5,000 in 1960 and more than doubling each of the next two decades, eventually coming to the present count of 32,032 at the 2010 census.

[4] During this period, the city limits greatly expanded, encompassing acres of newly built tract housing with upgraded roads and services.

Since much of the area farmland was acquired by the federal government, businesses within Copperas Cove now largely provide services for Fort Hood soldiers and their families.

Copperas Cove's climate is humid subtropical with hot summers, cool winters, and rainy springs.

Rainfall averages 33 inches (840 mm) per year, making the land suitable for agriculture without irrigation, though the region is prone to drought.

The area's thin layer of topsoil tends to be a light, crumbly caliche—capable of sustaining many agricultural plants, but susceptible to depletion and erosion.

[5] Copperas Cove has a suburban cityscape typical among American small towns developed in the post-World War II era.

Since most of Copperas Cove has been built after 1950, the extent of the town's walkable, historic downtown is considerably smaller than nearby, less populated communities, such as Lampasas or Gatesville.

Because of changing economic conditions in recent decades, intensive farming and ranching has largely left the area, making land fairly cheap to develop.

At the federal level, most of Copperas Cove is part of Texas' 31st District, which is currently represented by Republican John Carter.

Food, arts and crafts, Civil War reenactments, a petting zoo, pony rides, and kids games are available.

It is a German-inspired open air Christmas market sponsored by the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce and Visitor's Bureau.