The City of Denton

Duane's take

The official marker for the City of Denton is the one that put this story in my hands, and here's how it goes. Long before Denton had a name, pioneers were already pushin' into this part of Texas in the 1840s. The land had been part of something called the Peters Colony grant, and in 1846 the Texas Legislature reached in and carved Denton County right out of it; one of several counties pulled from that same grant.

Now they had a county. What they needed next was a seat for it. That took a while.

Voters tried other sites, couldn't settle on any of them, and it wasn't until 1856 that they finally landed on this tract, donated, mind you, by three men: Hiram Cisco, William Loving, and William Woodruff. The county and the city that would grow up here were named for John B. Denton, born in 1806, a minister who died in 1841 while defending frontier settlers.

A preacher who gave his life on the edge of the known world. That's the name this place carries. William Woodruff didn't just donate the land and walk away.

He got right to work alongside fellow surveyor C. C. Lacy and an attorney named Otis Welch, and the three of them platted the townsite.

Then 1857 arrived, and Denton came alive all at once: city lots went up for auction, the post office opened its doors, and a church was founded, all in the same year. Pioneer leaders stepped forward to hold things together: J. M.

Blount, Joseph A. Carroll, W. F.

Egan, and I. D. Ferguson among them.

A cotton gin followed. Then plants for making bricks, corn meal, flour, and ice. A newspaper called the Monitor began its career in 1868.

The town was buildin' itself into something real. And then there's the story that always makes people lean in a little closer around the fire. A young man named Sam Bass, born 1851, and he wouldn't live to see his twenty-eighth birthday, came through Denton working as a local farm hand.

While he was here, he trained and raced a horse known as the Denton Mare. History would later label him a legendary western outlaw. But for a spell, he was just a hand on a farm, and that mare was his.

Denton kept growin' in other directions too. In 1890, Texas Normal College opened here; the institution that would eventually become North Texas State University. Then in 1903, the College of Industrial Arts opened its doors, the school that grew into Texas Woman's University.

Education put down roots as deep as anything else in this county. By the time the first census rolled around in 1880, Denton counted 1,194 souls. By 1970, that number had climbed to 39,874.

Agriculture-related businesses, education, and small factories carrying the weight of the economy the whole way up. Started with pioneers in the 1840s and a county carved from a colony grant. Ended up with two universities, a legendary outlaw's racing mare, and nearly forty thousand people calling it home.

Denton, Texas; it had a good run getting here.

What the marker says

Pioneers settled this locality in the 1840s. In 1846 the Texas Legislature created Denton County -- one of several carved from the Peters Colony grant. After trying other sites, the voters in 1856 accepted for county seat this tract donated by Hiram Cisco, William Loving, and William Woodruff. The city and county were named for John B. Denton (1806-41), a minister killed while defending frontier settlers. Woodruff, fellow surveyor C. C. Lacy, and attorney Otis Welch platted the townsite. In 1857 city lots were auctioned, the post office opened, and a church was founded. J. M. Blount, Joseph A. Carroll, W. F. Egan, and I. D. Ferguson were pioneer leaders. A cotton gin and plants for making bricks, corn meal, flour and ice soon developed. The "Monitor," a newspaper, began its career in 1868. Sam Bass (1851-78), legendary western outlaw, trained and raced "The Denton Mare" while living and working as a local farm hand. North Texas State University originated here as Texas Normal College in 1890, and Texas Woman's University opened in 1903 as the College of Industrial Arts. Agriculture-related businesses, education, and small factories sustain the economy. The city grew from 1,194 in its first census (1880) to 39,874 by 1970. (1977)