The History of Denton, Texas

Denton County wanted its seat near the geographic center, so in 1857 three local men — Hiram Cisco, William Woodruff, and William Loving — donated a hundred acres for a new town. Both the town and county were named for John B. Denton, a preacher and lawyer killed in 1841 during a skirmish with the Kichai. The courthouse went up on the square, burned in 1875, and was rebuilt in 1876 as the ornate limestone Courthouse-on-the-Square that still commands downtown — now a museum, and one of the most photographed county courthouses in Texas. Denton finally incorporated in 1866.

The move that made modern Denton was education. In 1890 the North Texas Normal College opened to train teachers — it grew into the University of North Texas, now one of the largest universities in the state. Then in 1903 the Girls' Industrial College arrived, which became Texas Woman's University. Together the two schools eventually made up something like half the city's population, and they permanently changed its character from a farm-trade town into a college town with all the culture, youth, and restlessness that implies.

UNT built one of the most respected music programs in the country — its jazz studies program was a pioneer, and its famed lab bands earned national attention. That legacy seeded a live-music culture that spills off campus into the bars and stages around the downtown square, and Denton has turned out a steady stream of notable musicians and bands over the decades. The city runs its own municipal electric utility, keeps the historic square as its living room, and manages to stay a distinct, slightly bohemian place even as the Metroplex sprawls up to meet it.