DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, before Denton was Denton, this county couldn't quite make up its mind about where to put its seat of government — and the land itself had a say in the matter. Pull over and listen close, because this one's got more moves than a tumbleweeds in a crosswind.
Denton County was established in 1846, carved out of what had been Fannin County back in the days of the Republic of Texas. That first legislature of the State of Texas was busy that year — they created and organized thirty-one new counties all at once, and Denton was one of them. First order of business: find a county seat.
So in 1846, they planted one smack in the geographic center of the county. Called it Pinckneyville. Sounded reasonable on paper.
The trouble was, most of the early settlers weren't living anywhere near the geographic center — they'd drifted southeast. So Pinckneyville sat there being official while the actual people were somewhere else entirely. That arrangement lasted exactly as long as you'd expect.
Come 1848, the seat was moved. The new location sat on a ridge between what are now Pecan and Hickory Creeks, four miles south of present-day Denton, near Corinth. And the name of this new seat?
Alton. The first Alton, as history would come to call it. That name was chosen by two brothers — Enoch and Lorenzo Moore — who'd come from Alton, Illinois, and apparently felt strongly that a good name deserved a second life in Texas.
Now here is where the story gets a little lonesome. The only resident of the town of Alton — the only one — was a man named William Creth Baines. And William Creth Baines used his own home as the legal Denton County Seat.
Think about that. The entire county seat of Denton County was one man's house. Also in 1848, a post office was established, with Stephen A.
Venters serving as the first postmaster. Things were shaping up. Except for one thing.
They dug a well at the site. And it was dry. Bone dry.
Now, a county seat without water is less a seat of government and more just an inconvenience with a post office. So in 1851, they picked up and moved again — this time to the area of the residence of Alexander E. Cannon on Hickory Creek.
This became the second Alton, which folks today know as Old Alton. The new site could draw water from Hickory Creek, which turned out to be a considerable improvement over nothing. By 1855, Old Alton had at least two stores, a post office, and a hotel.
Growing up respectable. But not fast enough for everybody. In 1857, citizens who were unhappy with the progress of Alton pushed for the county seat to be moved yet again — this time to a more central location.
Denton County voters accepted an offer from three men: Hiram Cisco, William Loving, and William Woodruff. Those three put up one hundred acres of property for a brand new county seat. And in 1857, that new town near the center of the county was named Denton.
Four county seats in eleven years. Pinckneyville, then the first Alton — the one-man town with the dry well — then Old Alton on Hickory Creek, and finally Denton, where it has stayed. And somewhere nearby, still out there beneath the ground, is the supposed site of that first dry well.
The well that helped send a county seat packin'. Sometimes the land decides things before anybody else does.
What the marker says
Originally part of the Republic of Texas’ Fannin County, Denton County was established in 1846, when the first legislature of the State of Texas created and organized thirty-one new counties. Efforts to colonize the area eventually resulted in Denton becoming the county seat in 1857. Before Denton the county had three other seats. In 1846, Pinckneyville was established in the geographic center of the county, however, many early settlers were located further southeast. The seat was moved in 1848 to the first Alton, which was on a ridge between present-day Pecan and Hickory Creeks, four miles south of Denton, near Corinth. The name was chosen by early settlers, brothers Enoch and Lorenzo Moore, who were from Alton, Illinois. William Creth Baines, the only resident of the town of Alton, used his home as the legal Denton County Seat. A post office was established in 1848, with Stephen A. Venters as the first postmaster. A well was dug at the site of the first Alton but was dry. Because of the problems associated with the lack of water, the town was moved in 1851 to the area of the residence of Alexander E. Cannon on Hickory Creek. This second Alton is now known as Old Alton. The new site drew water from nearby Hickory Creek and by 1855, had at least two stores, a post office and a hotel. In 1857, on the behest of citizens who were unhappy with the progress of Alton, the county seat was moved to a more central location in present-day Denton. Denton County voters accepted an offer from Hiram Cisco, William Loving and William Woodruff to provide 100 acres of property for a new county seat. The new town, near the center of the county, was named Denton in 1857. Nearby is the supposed site of the dry well of the first Alton site. (2016)