Denton, Texas


Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With an estimated population of 141,541 as of 2019, it is the 24th-most populous city in Texas, the 196th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
A Texas land grant led to the formation of Denton County in 1846, and the city was incorporated in 1866. Both were named after pioneer and Texas militia captain John B. Denton. The arrival of a railroad line in the city in 1881 spurred population, and the establishment of the University of North Texas in 1890 and Texas Woman's University in 1901 distinguished the city from neighboring regions. After the construction of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport finished in 1974, the city had more rapid growth; as of 2011, Denton was the seventh-fastest growing city with a population over 100,000 in the country.
Located on the far north end of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in North Texas on Interstate 35, Denton is known for its active music life; the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo, Denton Arts and Jazz Festival, and 35 Denton Music Festival attract over 300,000 people to the city each year. The city experiences hot, humid summers and relatively few extreme weather events. Its diverse citizenry is represented by a nonpartisan city council, and numerous county and state departments have offices in the city. With over 45,000 students enrolled at the two universities located within its city limits, Denton is often characterized as a college town. As a result of the universities' growth, educational services play a large role in the city's economy. Residents are served by the Denton County Transportation Authority, which provides commuter rail and bus service to the area.

History

The formation of Denton is closely tied with that of Denton County. White settlement of the area began in the middle of the 1800s when William S. Peters of Kentucky obtained a land grant from the Texas Congress and named it Peters Colony. After initial settlement in the southeast part of the county in 1843, the Texas Legislature voted to form Denton County in 1846. Both the county and the town were named for John B. Denton, a preacher and lawyer who was killed in 1841 during a skirmish with Kichai people in what is now Tarrant County. Pickneyville and Alton were selected as the county seat before Denton was named for that position in 1857. That year, a commission laid out the city and named the first streets.
On July 8, 1860, approximately one-half of the downtown Square burned down in what was later called the "Texas Troubles." Fires occurred in ten Texas communities that day, including Dallas and Pilot Point and were quickly attributed to a slave insurrection. By the end of July, vigilante justice took hold and "egularly constituted law-enforcement agencies stepped aside to allow the vigilantes to do their work. Although no hard evidence was ever adduced to prove the guilt of a single alleged black arsonist or white abolitionist, many unfortunates of both classes were nevertheless hanged for their alleged crimes."
In February 1861, a statewide referendum was held and Texans voted to join the Confederate States of America.

Antebellum Era

Denton incorporated in 1866; its first mayor was J.B. Sawyer. As the city expanded beyond its original boundaries, it became an agricultural trade center for the mill and cottage industries. The arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881 gave Denton its first rail connection and brought an influx of people to the area. North Texas Normal College, now the University of North Texas, was established in 1890, and the Girls' Industrial College, now Texas Woman's University, was founded in 1901. As the universities increased in size, their impact on Denton's economy and culture increased. Electricity came to Denton beginning in 1905 with the creation of Denton Municipal Electric.

Segregation and Jim Crow Era

Like many cities in the Southern United States, Denton has a legacy of racial segregation stemming from the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In 1918, the Daughters of the Confederacy gifted the City of Denton with a monument entitled "Our Confederate Soldiers." At the base of the monument two water fountains are present, one engraved "whites" and the other engraved "colored." The monument was placed prominently on the grounds of the Denton County Courthouse.
After the Civil War, "Freedmen Settlements" were started throughout the South. One Freedman Settlement called Quakertown, thrived just south of what is now Texas Woman's University until around 1920, when the residents were forcibly removed by the City government to make way for a park. Quakertown's Black children were served separately from white children by the Frederick Douglass School. Originally scheduled to open in September 1913, it was mysteriously burned down the Sunday night prior to the scheduled opening. It was rebuilt and in 1949 renamed the "Fred Moore School."
Although the United States Supreme Court ordered school integration in the seminal Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954, Denton public schools remained segregated until 1963, when the local school board voted unanimously to integrate them. Integration was not complete in Denton public schools until 1967, 13 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The federal deadline for complete integration of schools in Texas was September 1, 1967.
In 1933, the local chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, or I.O.O.F., deeded a cemetery to the City of Denton which contained a "whites only" deed restriction preventing the burial of Black people at the now-City-owned cemetery. The deed restriction was allegedly no longer enforced by the 1950s, however the unlawful restriction was not removed by City action until 2016.

Post-War Growth

Denton grew from a population of 26,844 in 1960 to 48,063 in 1980. Its connection to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex via I-35E and I-35W played a major role in the growth, and the opening of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 1974 led to an increase in population. In the 1980s, heavy manufacturing companies like Victor Equipment Company and Peterbilt joined older manufacturing firms such as Moore Business Forms and Morrison Milling Company in Denton. The population jumped from 66,270 in 1990 to 80,537 in 2000. In May 2006, Houston-based real estate company United Equities purchased the 100-block of Fry Street and announced that several of the historic buildings would be demolished and the businesses displaced to accommodate a new mixed-use commercial center. The proposal drew opposition from some residents, who sought to preserve the area as a historic and cultural icon for the city. The Denton City Council approved a new proposal for the area from Dinerstein Cos in 2010.

Timeline

Denton is located on the northern edge of the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. These three cities form the area known as the "Golden Triangle of North Texas." According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is covered by water. The city lies in the northeast edge of the Bend Arch–Fort Worth Basin, which is characterized by flat terrain. Elevation ranges from. Part of the city is located atop the Barnett Shale, a geological formation believed to contain large quantities of natural gas. Lewisville Lake, a man-made reservoir, is located south of the city.

Climate

With its hot, humid summers and cool winters, Denton's climate is characterized as humid subtropical and is within USDA hardiness zone 8a. The city's all-time high temperature is, recorded in 1954. Dry winds affect the area in the summer and can bring temperatures of over, although the average summer temperature highs range from between June and August. The all-time recorded low is, and the coolest month is January, with daily low temperatures averaging. Denton lies on the southern end of what is commonly referred to as "Tornado Alley"; the National Weather Service occasionally issues tornado watches, although tornadoes rarely form in the city. The city receives about of rain per year. Flash floods and severe thunderstorms are frequent occurrences during spring. Average snowfall in Denton is similar to the Dallas–Fort Worth average of per year.

Arts and cultural life

Denton is home to several annual artistic and cultural events that cater to residents and tourists. The annual North Texas State Fair and Rodeo began in 1928 and promotes the cowboy culture of Texas. In addition to a rodeo, the event features several local country rock performances, pageants, and food contests. Hosted by the North Texas State Fairgrounds since 1948, the fair brings in over 150,000 people during its nine-day run. The Denton Municipal Airport has hosted the annual Denton Airshow since 1998. The event includes aerial demonstrations and airplane exhibits; it attracted over 10,000 attendees in 2012. Other events in the city include an annual Redbud Festival, the Fiesta on the Square, and the Thin Line Documentary Film Fest.
Denton houses the largest community garden in the United States, specifically Shiloh Field Community Garden, which measures at 14.5 acres of land.

Music

The local independent music scene in Denton has emerged alongside Denton's academic music establishments, including the University of North Texas College of Music. The city's live music venues are largely supported by Denton's college-town atmosphere, although show attendance is bolstered by area residents. The Dallas Observer features a column on Denton's local music scene. In 2007 and 2008, Denton's music scene received feature attention from The Guardian, Pop Matters, and The New York Times. Paste Magazine named Denton's music scene the best in the United States in 2008. The city-sponsored Denton Arts and Jazz Festival attracts over 200,000 people each year for live music, food, crafts, and recreation at Civic Center Park. Bands such as Tower of Power, Brave Combo, and Arturo Sandoval have performed at the festival, as well as jazz groups from the University of North Texas. With hopes of creating a live music event similar to South by Southwest, Denton held the first annual North by 35 Music Festival, now called 35 Denton, in March 2009. In 2014, the Huffington Post listed Denton as the number-one emerging cultural hot spot in Texas to visit, while referring to Denton as "Practically an indie band factory at this point..."

Denton Square

The Denton Square, bordered by Oak, Hickory, Locust, and Elm Streets, is a cultural and political hub of the city. At its center is the Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square, which includes local government offices and a museum showcasing area history and culture. Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the former county courthouse was restored for the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986. The positive response to the renovation sparked a downtown revitalization program that generated new jobs and reinvestment capital. The downtown square is populated by local shops and restaurants, some of which have been in business since the 1940s. Each year, the downtown square is adorned with lights and spotlighted during the Denton Holiday Lighting Festival.
The Denton Confederate Soldier Monument, a granite monument consisting of an arch topped by a statue of a Confederate soldier, was erected in 1918 in Denton Square on the courthouse lawn by the Daughters of the Confederacy. The monument is controversial, and attempts to have it removed have been unsuccessful.

Government

Denton is the county seat of Denton County. From 1914 to 1959, the City of Denton used a mayor–city commission system, but a charter adopted in 1959 created a council–manager form of city government. Residents elect a mayor, four single-member district council members, and two at-large members. The city manager is appointed by the Denton City Council. Council terms are for two years, with a maximum of three consecutive terms, and elections are held each year in May. Utilities are administered by Denton Municipal Utilities; the city provides water, wastewater, electric, drainage and solid waste service. The electric utility, Denton Municipal Electric, has been in operation since 1905. In 2009, DME began providing 40 percent of its energy to customers through renewable resources. The City of Denton Water Utilities Department serves the city's water demand. Atmos Energy provides the city's natural gas. Denton is a part of the Sister Cities International program and maintains cultural and economic exchange programs with its sister cities, Madaba in Jordan and San Nicolás de los Garza in Mexico.
The city of Denton is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments association, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.

State and national representation

Denton is located within U.S. House 26th Congressional district, which is represented by Michael C. Burgess. In the US Congress, the city is in the 30th District in the Texas Senate, represented by Republican Craig Estes. It is in the 64th District of the Texas House of Representatives, represented by Republican Myra Crownover since 2001.
Several Texas state agencies have facilities in the city, including a Texas Workforce Center, a Texas Department of Public Safety office, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice office, and a Denton District Parole Office. The Denton State Supported Living Center, formerly Denton State School, is the largest residential facility for people with developmental disabilities in Texas. The center serves an 18-county area and employs approximately 1,500 people. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has its Region VI headquarters in Denton.

Demographics

Along with much of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Denton has grown rapidly in recent years, becoming the seventh fastest-growing city in the U.S. with a population over 100,000 between 2010 and 2011. The city has a population of 113,383 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it the 230th largest city in the United States and the 27th largest in Texas. The population density was 1,289.1 people per square mile. There were 46,211 housing units and 39,060 households in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.8% White, 10.3% African American, 4.1% Asian, 0.8% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race comprised 21.2% of the population. The median income for a household was $44,415 in 2010. The per capita income was $22,940. About 20.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

provides the public primary and secondary educational system in the city. The district comprises four comprehensive high schools, one alternative high school, and multiple elementary and middle schools. Small portions of the city extend into the Argyle and Sanger school districts. Denton is also host to several private schools with religious affiliations and alternative education models. According to the 2010 United States Census, 35.1% of all adults over the age of 25 in Denton have obtained a bachelor's degree, as compared to the state average of 25.8%, and 86.1% of residents over the age of 25 have earned a high school diploma, as compared to the state average of 80%.
The high school residential program Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, for gifted students, is in Denton.
The Roman Catholic Immaculate Conception Catholic School, a K-8 school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, opened in 1995. Construction on the current facility started on July 15, 2001, with its opening on August 19, 2002.
The charter school operator Life's Beautiful Educational Centers Inc. operated the school L.O.V.E. in Denton.

Public libraries

Denton is served by the Denton Public Library, which has three branches: Emily Fowler Central Library, North Branch Library, and South Branch Library.

University of North Texas

The University of North Texas in Denton is the flagship university of the University of North Texas System, which also includes the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth, the University of North Texas at Dallas, and UNT Dallas College of Law. With an enrollment of nearly 38,000, it's the sixth largest university in Texas. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Its College of Music, the first school to offer a degree in the field of jazz studies, is nationally recognized.

Texas Woman's University

is a public university in Denton with two health science center branches in Dallas and Houston. Founded in 1901, the university enrolls more than 13,000 undergraduates and graduates. Men have been admitted to TWU since 1972 but make up less than ten percent of the university. TWU's College of Nursing is the second largest in Texas and in the top 20 of largest nursing programs in the United States, and the school's nursing doctoral program is the largest in the world.

FSB Exchange at NCTC Denton

is a public community college based in Gainesville, Texas. Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, North Central Texas College partnered with First State Bank to open a branch campus in downtown Denton. Located in the former Denton Record-Chronicle building, the campus focuses on accounting, business, biology, early childhood education, kinesiology, psychology, and general studies.

Economy

The educational services, health and social services, manufacturing, and general retail sectors employ over 20,000 people in Denton. The city's three largest educational institutions, including the University of North Texas, Denton Independent School District, and Texas Woman's University, are the largest employers, employing almost 12,000 people. The University of North Texas is the largest employer in the city, with 7,764 employees comprising 12.59% of the workforce. The City of Denton also employs more than 1,334 people. Wholesale trade and hospitality jobs also play major roles. Notable businesses headquartered in Denton include truck manufacturer Peterbilt, beauty supplier Sally Beauty Company, and jewelry producer Jostens. Golden Triangle Mall, the city's largest shopping complex with over 90 specialty shops, is a major source of retail trade.

Top employers

According to the city's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in Denton are:
#EmployerNumber of
employees
1University of North Texas8,738
2Denton Independent School District4,417
3Peterbilt Motors2,314
4Denton State Supported Living Center1,700
5Texas Woman's University1,672
6City of Denton1,630
7Denton County1,581
8Federal Emergency Management Agency1,100
9Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton1,076
10Medical City Denton950

Media

Since 1899, the Denton Record-Chronicle has been the newspaper of record for Denton. When it was acquired by Belo Corporation in 1999, the newspaper had a circulation of 16,000. The North Texas Daily and The Lasso provide daily and weekly news to students at the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University. The city's public television station, Denton TV, covers city council meetings, restaurant scores, high school football, and educational programming. UNT's television station, ntTV, is broadcast on local channels provided by Charter Communications and Verizon Communications. ntTV News is broadcast live Monday through Thursday. KNTU 88.1 FM is UNT's official radio station. First aired in 1969, the station primarily plays a mixture of jazz and blues and covers local sports and news.

Transportation

and I-35W, which split in Hillsboro south of the Metroplex and come north through Dallas and Fort Worth respectively, rejoin near the University of North Texas campus in the southwest part of Denton to form Interstate 35 as it continues north on its way to Oklahoma. Loop 288 partially encircles the city; it passes through the northern limits of the city by C. H. Collins Athletic Complex and the eastern side near Golden Triangle Mall. Highway 77 and 377 go through the historic town square and Highway 380 connects Denton to Frisco and McKinney in the east and Decatur in the west. Denton Enterprise Airport is a public airport located west of the central business district of Denton. This airport serves as home to various cargo and charter operators as well as two flight schools. A new terminal opened in 2008, but as of June 2008 no scheduled commuter service is in place.

Mass transit

Denton is served by the Denton County Transportation Authority, which operates local bus service and regional rail to Lewisville and Carrollton, with connections to Dallas' DART rail system. In 2011, Downtown Denton Transit Center and Medpark Station opened as commuter rail stations on DCTA's A-train, which now has five stations and connects to the Green Line of Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Green Line at Trinity Mills Station. The two transit companies, along with the Trinity Rail Express of Fort Worth, offer regional passes to be used on any of the three systems. As of August, 2017, rides between the first two and the last two are "fare-free," though any ride to or through the 3rd stop will require a paid pass. DCTA states this will relocate downtown parking needs to the underutilized space at Medpark station, and enhance mobility in Downtown Denton, including for students, as well as for residents of Hebron who connect to the DART system one stop away at Trinity Mills. DCTA also operates the Connect local bus service within the cities of Denton and Lewisville and special university shuttles. All Connect services are free of charge for students at the University of North Texas who swipe their ID at the bus entrance. Special Programs for Aging Needs, a non-profit organization, offers paratransit service for senior citizens and people with disabilities of all ages.

Health care

Two major hospitals operate in Denton: Medical City Denton and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton are both full-service hospitals with differing capacities: 208 beds and 255 beds, respectively. Each employs more than 800 employees and are licensed with emergency services.

Fracking ban

In response to a 2014 city referendum prohibiting hydraulic fracturing that passed with 59% of the vote, Texas enacted a law specifying "the exclusive jurisdiction of this state to regulate oil and gas operations in this state and the express preemption of local regulation of those operations", though it allows some "commercially reasonable" rules. Denton says it will "continue to enforce our current regulations to protect the health and safety of our residents, but we do not know how the operators or courts will react".

Green Tree Estates water crisis

The Green Tree Estates is a low-income mobile home neighborhood with an estimated 50 residents currently living on the property. The city of Denton annexed the neighborhood in 2011, but the land remained as private property. Residents claim that landowner, Don Roddy, was supposed to install infrastructure to connect to the city of Denton's water supply but never did. The residents living on the Green Tree Estates property relied on the privately-owned well for water.
After numerous fines for failing to bring the system into compliance, Roddy announced that he would shut down the well-based water system completely on November 15th, 2019. The water from that systems was murky yellow, orange, and brown. On November 13, 2019, Denton Mayor Chris Watts issued a declaration of local state of disaster for the Green Tree Estates neighborhood and two days later, the City of Denton began sending tanks of water to Green Tree Estates.

2019 events

The owner and well operator of Green Tree Estates, Don Roddy, turned off the private well on November 15th, 2019. It was later reported that Roddy had reached out to the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality and reported some of the connections were illegal, allowing Roddy to disconnect service at any time. On October 29 a neighborhood meeting took place to inform the Green Tree Estates residents of the situation and to collect feedback. However, the majority of the residents are Hispanic and few speak English so many residents did not acquire understanding from the meeting. In the meeting, Denton director of utilities, Ken Banks, estimated that the cost of bringing in a modern water system to the neighborhood would exceed $500,000. A representative from the Public Utility Commission reported that the city is not in a position to force Roddy to keep the water system on any longer. On November 11 at an additional meeting, City Manager, Todd Hileman, discussed how declaring the situation as an emergency would allow for temporary funding to ease the situation until a more permanent plan could be put into action. A translator is also present at this meeting to convey information to the Green Tree Estates residents. On November 13, 2019 Denton Mayor Chris Watts issued a declaration of local state of disaster for the Green Tree Estates neighborhood. This allowed for 90-day temporary funding for the Green Tree Estates residents.
On November 15, 2019, a special city council meeting was held to discuss how emergency funds will be spent. The city decided to purchase 14 275-gallon tanks to fill with water and distribute them to families of the Green Tree Estates. The city also plans to refill the tanks three days a week. Green Tree Estates residents expressed their concerns that this was not going to be enough water.
On December 10, 2019 the Denton City Council agreed to extend an emergency declaration over water service to the Green Tree Estates until February. In the meantime, plans to conduct courtesy home inspections and collect a census on property owners and tenants are made and considered key to settling on a long-term solution.

2020 events

City leaders asked for the cooperation from the Green Tree Estates residents regarding conducting home inspections as well as helping to identify which residents owned their properties and which were tenants. Through these actions, advocacy groups and the city of Denton could work together on the needed easements for new water lines. City manager, Todd Hileman, said that the city's ability to get those easements was "key" to settling on a long-term solution. However, residents of the Green Tree Estates expressed confusion stating that they didn't understand what was being asked of them. An attorney representing the Green Tree Estates neighborhood advised the residents to hire their own inspectors, resulting in none of the 14 homes accepting courtesy inspections from the city of Denton. The residents are seeking to calculate the total costs before deciding to connect to Denton's water system which means they need more time for the assessments and work. The residents of Green Tree Estates are asking the city of Denton for an extension on the public emergency until May 2021.
As of February 4, 2020, none of the 14 families living in the Green Tree Estates had completed the courtesy inspections of their homes from the city of Denton. Instead, the neighborhood's attorney recommended the residents bring in their own inspectors. A Univision television reporter reported that "the residents want to calculate the total costs before deciding to connect to the system." Lastly, the residents told the deputy director of public affairs that they needed more time for the assessments and the work and asked the city council to extend the public emergency until May 2021. Some council members were uneasy with the request for the extension to continue for more than a year, but other members were more comfortable with it as long as progress is shown to be made. At a February 18, 2020 the Denton city council said that it plans to revisit the issue April 21, to give residents and city officials time to see which owners would be able to connect if the water main. The expressed concern that residents may not actually connect to the water main if it is supplied. However, this idea is currently on hold due to concerns that many residents living at Green Tree estates will not be able to afford the fees required by the contractors, questions regarding which homes are up to code and concerns on the quality, age, and structural integrity of the private water system.

Notable people