Editing Mills County, Texas (section)

== Recreation ==
The early county residents enjoyed a number of diversions, including dancing, attending movies, running horse races, going to town on Saturdays, and drinking at the saloons.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6" /> The first Mills County fairgrounds, located on the south side of Goldthwaite to the east of Livestock Commission Company, had a number of features, including a race track, baseball and football fields, an exhibition building, a band and dance platform, and sometimes a skating rink.<ref name=":1" /> It also hosted a carnival.<ref name=":1" /> All Goldthwaite football games were held at the football field at the fairgrounds—without bleachers–until a stadium was built near the school in the late 1930s.<ref name=":1" /> The circus, hosted in Goldthwaite, also attracted residents from across the county.<ref name=":1" /> Another regular diversion for county residents were [[medicine show]]s, held in Goldthwaite, in which proprietors put on an entertaining show designed to sell nostrums.<ref name=":1" /> In the 1920s, [[Lake Merritt (Texas)|Lake Merrit]] attracted many Mills County residents, who camped and swam there.<ref name=":1" />

Goldthwaite is home to the Texas State Championship BBQ & Goat Cook-off, which was started in 1996.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McMahan |first=Mike |date=2021 |title=Welcome Visitors! |journal=Mills County Visitor Guide 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Goldthwaite Eagle - March 1, 2023 |url=https://1318.newstogo.us/editionviewer/default.aspx?Edition=a9989047-d2f6-4191-b389-04f3394fcce6 |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=1318.newstogo.us}}</ref>

An abundance of deer, dove, hogs, turkey, and small game attracts recreational hunters from Texas and beyond.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bridges |first=Steven |date=2022 |title=The 2022 Hunting Season is Here! |journal=2022 Mills County Hunting Guide}}</ref> Fishing is also a popular activity in the county.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bridges |first=Steven |date=2022 |title=Relax & Go Fishing in Mills County |journal=2022 Mills County Hunting Guide}}</ref>

The annual Mills County Youth Fair & Stock Show, a collaboration of  FFA, FHA, and 4-H chapters from across the county, has been in operation for over 80 years.<ref name=":36">{{Cite journal |date=2024 |title=Taking Stock in Our Youth |journal=2024/25 Mills County Visitor Guide |pages=28}}</ref> Mills County Extension Agent Tom Guthrie observed, "I think this is probably the largest single event in the county that brings kids and adults from all over Mills County together.<ref name=":36" />

The Goldthwaite Theatre, established in 2017, occupies a historic property in downtown Goldthwaite that was once an opera house in the late nineteenth century.<ref name=":37">{{Cite journal |date=2024 |title=The Goldthwaite Theatre |journal=2024/25 Mills County Visitor Guide |pages=27}}</ref> The building is owned by the city's Economic Development Corporation.<ref name=":37" />