Bartonville

Duane's take

Here's my take on what the official marker has to say about Bartonville, straight from the record and into your ears. Now settle in, because this is one of those towns that earned its place on the map one layer at a time. It starts, like so many good Texas stories do, after the Revolution, when early settlers pushed into Denton County looking for land worth working.

They found it. Denton Creek split itself into the Loving Branch and the Sharps Branch, and that fresh water made all the difference. The soil along those banks ran sandy and fertile, and subsistence farmers put it to work growing peanuts, wheat, corn, cotton, and barley.

Not bad for a stretch of creek bottom that didn't have a name yet. Then came 1881, and two brothers who were about to give it one. Bentley B.

Barton, born in 1849, and James M. Barton, born in 1840, purchased ten acres near the southeast corner of the A. R.

Loving Survey. Ten acres. That's it.

But here's the thing about location. The site sat along the Old Wagon Trail, what you'd know today as FM 407, right at the crossroad connecting Denton, Grapevine, and Lewisville. Anybody movin' between those towns was going to pass right through.

Bentley opened a store, and that store prospered. He sold goods and milled wheat grown by local farmers, and the community started building itself around that single point of commerce. The town was first known as Barton's Mill, then by 1883 it had become Bartonville.

Founding families, the Breedings, the Brooms, the Jeters, and the McMakins, put down roots and helped the community grow, all of it orbiting that store at the hub. For one hundred and thirty years, under the care of its numerous owners, the Bartonville Store proved to be a lasting center of local commerce and a landmark identifier for the town. Now here's where the story takes a turn that tells you something about the people who lived there.

In 1960, word got around that the city of Irving had annexation on its mind. Bartonville residents were not interested in that arrangement. They voted to incorporate, and they did it with ambition.

The newly incorporated town became the largest in Denton County, taking in nearly thirty square miles, a territory that included what are now Double Oak and Copper Canyon. That's a bold move for a town that started with ten acres and a flour mill. Of course, things kept shifting.

In 1964, Bartonville was disincorporated. Then in 1973, a smaller geographical town was reincorporated, and right there at its hub again, steady as ever, sat the Bartonville Store. The store finally closed permanently in 2013.

But the marker doesn't call that an ending. It calls the store the original cornerstone of this rural community. Some things don't stop mattering just because the doors are locked.

Bartonville knows that better than most.

What the marker says

The town of Bartonville grew out of early post-Texas Revolution settlements in Denton County. Denton Creek, which split into the Loving Branch and the Sharps Branch, provided fresh water to the town. Early subsistence farmers found fertile sandy soil for their crops, which included peanuts, wheat, corn, cotton and barley. In 1881, two brothers, Bentley B. Barton (1849-1905) and James M. Barton (1840-1893) purchased ten acres near the southeast corner of the A. R. Loving Survey. Situated along the Old Wagon Trail (FM 407) and the crossroad between Denton, Grapevine and Lewisville, the site proved to be a valuable center of commerce. Bentley's store prospered, selling goods and milling wheat grown by local farmers. The town was first known as "Barton's Mill," then changed to Bartonville by 1883. With the store as its hub, the community grew with the help of founding families: Breeding, Broom, Jeter and McMakin. Under the care of its numerous owners, for 130 years, the Bartonville Store proved to be a lasting center of local commerce for the community and a landmark identifier for the town. In 1960, to prevent annexation by the city of Irving, Bartonville residents voted to incorporate the town. The borders of the newly incorporated town made it the largest in the county with nearly 30 square miles which included present Double Oak and Copper Canyon. In 1964, Bartonville was disincorporated and in 1973 a smaller geographical town was reincorporated with the Bartonville Store still at its hub. The store was permanently closed in 2013 but is viewed as the original cornerstone of this rural community.