Denton County, Texas

Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 662,614,[1] making it the 9th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton.[2] The 2019 Census Bureau estimate for Denton County's population is 887,207.[3] The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was established in 1846. Denton County constitutes part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. In 2007, it was one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States.[4]

Denton County
County
Denton County
The Denton County Courts Building, built 1998
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°12′N 97°07′W
Country United States
State Texas
FoundedApril 11, 1846
Named forJohn B. Denton
SeatDenton
Largest cityDenton
Area
 • Total953 sq mi (2,470 km2)
 • Land878 sq mi (2,270 km2)
 • Water75 sq mi (190 km2)  7.8%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total662,614
 • Estimate 
(2019)
887,207
 • Density952/sq mi (368/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts24th, 26th
Websitedentoncounty.gov

History
See also: Timeline of Denton, Texas and National Register of Historic Places listings in Denton County, Texas

Before the arrival of settlers, various Native American peoples, including the Kichai and the Lenape, infrequently populated the area.[5] The area was settled by Peters Colony landowners in the early 1840s.[6] Until the annexation of Texas, the area was considered part of Fannin County.[7] On April 11, 1846, the First Texas Legislature established Denton County.[8] The county was named for John B. Denton, who was killed while raiding a Native American village in Tarrant County in 1841.[9] Originally, the county seat was set at Pickneyville. This was later changed to Alton, where the Old Alton Bridge currently stands, and then moved finally to Denton.

By 1860, the population of the county had increased to 5,031.[10] On March 4, 1861, residents of the county narrowly voted for secession from the Union, with 331 votes cast for and 264 against.[11] The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad reached Lewisville, located in the southern portion of the county, by the early 1880s.[6] The Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square was built in 1896, and today, the building currently houses various government offices, as well as a museum.[12]

Geography
Denton, Texas
Climate chart (explanation)
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Source: [13]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 953 square miles (2,470 km2), of which 878 square miles (2,270 km2) are land and 75 square miles (190 km2) (7.8%) are covered by water.[14] Denton County is located in the northern part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, about 35 miles south of the border between Texas and Oklahoma.[15] It is drained by two forks of the Trinity River.[16] The largest body of water in Denton County is Lewisville Lake, which was formed in 1954 when the Garza–Little Elm Reservoir was merged with Lake Dallas. The county is on the western edge of the eastern Cross Timbers and also encompasses parts of the Grand Prairie portion of the Texas blackland prairies. Portions of Denton County sit atop the Barnett shale, a geological formation believed to contain large quantities of natural shale gas. Between 1995 and 2007, the number of natural gas wells in the county increased from 156 to 1,820, which has led to some controversy over the pollution resulting from hydraulic fracturing.[17]

Lakes

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1850641—
18605,031684.9%
18707,25144.1%
188018,143150.2%
189021,28917.3%
190028,31833.0%
191031,25810.4%
192035,35513.1%
193032,822−7.2%
194033,6582.5%
195041,36522.9%
196047,43214.7%
197075,63359.5%
1980143,12689.2%
1990273,52591.1%
2000432,97658.3%
2010662,61453.0%
2019 (est.)887,207[18]33.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[19]
1850–2010[20]

2015 Texas Population Estimate Program

As of the 2015 Texas Population Estimate Program, the population of the county was 778,846, non-Hispanic whites 459,448 (59.0%), Black Americans 69,040 (8.9%), and other non-Hispanics 85,406 (11.0%). Hispanics and Latinos (of any race) 164,952 (21.2%).[21]

2010 Census

As of the 2010 United States Census,[22] there were 662,614 people, 224,840 households and 256,139 housing units in the county. The population density was 754.3 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 75% White, 8.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 6.6% Asian, and 3.0% from two or more races. About 18.2% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.[1] Denton County ranked 29th on the US Census Bureau's list of fastest-growing counties between 2000 and 2007, with a 41.4% increase in population.[4]

A Williams Institute analysis of 2010 census data found about 5.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.[23]

Government and politics

Government

Denton County, like all counties in Texas, is governed by a commissioners court, which consists of the county judge (the chairperson of the court), who is elected county-wide, and four commissioners who are elected by the voters in each of four districts.

Justices of the peace are county officials with jurisdiction over landlord/tenant issues, small civil claims, certain misdemeanors, and other matters.[24]

County commissioners
Office Name Party
  County Judge Andy Eads Republican
  Commissioner, Precinct 1 Ryan Williams Republican
  Commissioner, Precinct 2 Ron Marchant Republican
  Commissioner, Precinct 3 Bobbie Mitchell Republican
  Commissioner, Precinct 4 Dianne Edmondson Republican

County officials
Office Name Party
  District attorney Paul Johnson Republican
  County clerk Juli Luke Republican
  District clerk David Trantham Republican
  Sheriff Tracy Murphree Republican
  Tax Assessor Michelle French Republican
  Treasurer Cindy Yeatts Brown Republican

Justices of the peace
Office Name Party
Precinct 1 Joe Holland Republican
Precinct 2 James R. DePiazza Republican
Precinct 3 James Kerbow Republican
Precinct 4 Harris Hughey Republican
Precinct 5 Mike Oglesby Republican
Precinct 6 Christopher Lopez Democrat

Politics

Denton County, like most suburban counties in Texas, is reliably Republican in statewide and national elections, although becoming less so since the 2018 election, when Beto O'Rourke earned 45.52% of the county's votes and two Democrats were elected.[25] The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the county was native Texan Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964,[26] the only time since 1952 that the county has been carried by a Democrat. Denton swung rapidly into the Republican column at the federal level in the 1950s and 1960s as Dallas and Fort Worth's suburbs spilled into the county.

In 2018, State Representative Michelle Beckley became the first Democrat elected to the state legislature from Denton County since 1984.[27] Her district, the 65th, is located entirely within Denton County, and includes significant portions of Carrollton, Highland Village and Lewisville.[28] Also in 2018, Christopher Lopez, elected to justice of the peace, Precinct 6, became the first Democrat elected at the county level since 2004.[27]

Despite a Republican advantage, Denton continues to trend leftward, as Joe Biden managed 45.2% (to Donald Trump's 53.3%) in the 2020 presidential election, the best result for a losing Democrat and the closest race since 1976. Many other suburban Texas counties, including its immediate neighbors in Collin County and Tarrant County as well as those around Houston and Austin, showed similar swings since 2016.

Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[29]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2020 53.2% 222,480 45.1% 188,695 1.6% 6,789
2016 57.1% 170,603 37.1% 110,890 5.7% 17,152
2012 64.9% 157,579 33.4% 80,978 1.7% 4,224
2008 61.6% 149,935 37.5% 91,160 0.9% 2,168
2004 70.0% 140,891 29.5% 59,346 0.6% 1,173
2000 69.6% 102,171 27.4% 40,144 3.1% 4,475
1996 58.5% 65,313 32.4% 36,138 9.1% 10,145
1992 41.6% 48,492 23.9% 27,891 34.5% 40,193
1988 68.2% 57,444 31.1% 26,204 0.7% 562
1984 75.7% 52,865 24.0% 16,772 0.2% 159
1980 59.9% 29,908 34.8% 17,381 5.2% 2,619
1976 51.5% 20,440 47.6% 18,887 0.9% 365
1972 66.2% 19,138 33.6% 9,720 0.2% 62
1968 43.6% 8,222 39.6% 7,463 16.9% 3,178
1964 32.1% 4,335 67.7% 9,137 0.2% 22
1960 51.5% 5,724 48.3% 5,366 0.3% 29
1956 51.7% 5,350 48.1% 4,972 0.2% 24
1952 52.4% 5,840 47.5% 5,289 0.1% 8
1948 22.0% 1,531 65.4% 4,549 12.6% 873
1944 10.8% 771 78.5% 5,584 10.6% 755
1940 12.3% 899 87.6% 6,386 0.1% 7
1936 8.6% 476 90.9% 5,021 0.5% 26
1932 9.2% 520 90.1% 5,115 0.7% 42
1928 51.9% 2,587 47.8% 2,384 0.3% 15
1924 12.3% 712 81.1% 4,708 6.6% 385
1920 34.6% 900 48.4% 1,257 17.0% 443
1916 13.0% 451 82.2% 2,844 4.8% 167
1912 7.3% 189 87.8% 2,287 5.0% 130

State board of education members
District Name Party
  District 14 Sue Melton-Malone Republican

Texas State Representatives
District Name Party Residence
  District 63 Tan Parker Republican Flower Mound
  District 64 Lynn Stucky Republican Lake Dallas
  District 65 Michelle Beckley Democrat Carrollton
  District 106 Jared Patterson Republican Frisco

Texas state senators
District Name Party Residence
  District 12 Jane Nelson Republican Flower Mound
  District 30 Pat Fallon Republican Prosper

United States representatives
District Name Party Residence
  Texas's 24th congressional district Beth Van Duyne Republican Irving
  Texas's 26th congressional district Michael Burgess Republican Lewisville

Education
See also: List of museums in North Texas

K-12 schools

These school districts lie entirely within Denton County:

These school districts lie partly within Denton County:

These private educational institutions serve Denton County:

From around 1997 to 2015, the number of non-Hispanic white children in K-12 schools in the county increased by 20,000 as part of a trend of white flight and suburbanization by non-Hispanic white families.[30]

Colleges and universities

These higher-education institutions serve Denton County:

Transportation

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) operates a bus service in the county that includes Denton, Lewisville, and Highland Village. SPAN Transit covers areas outside of Denton and Lewisville.

DCTA also operates the A-train, a commuter rail service that runs from Denton to Carrollton, at which station passengers can switch to the Green Line train owned and operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Passengers can transfer to other DART lines (denominated by different colors) at the downtown Dallas DART station.

The county is home to the Denton Municipal Airport and the Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located a few miles south of the county.

Major Highways

Communities

Multiple counties

Denton County only

Multiple counties

Denton County only

Census-designated places

Unincorporated community

Ghost town

Notable people

See also

References
  1. Quickfacts 2012.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Archived from the original on May 29, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  4. Census 2007.
  5. Bridges 1978, pp. 1–26.
  6. Odom 2010.
  7. Bates 1918, p. 2.
  8. Bolz & Bolz 2010, p. 7.
  9. Bates 1918, pp. 18–24.
  10. Hervey 2002, p. 9.
  11. Bridges 1978, p. 96.
  12. Bolz & Bolz 2010, p. 9.
  13. Weather 2012.
  14. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  15. Cowling 1936, p. 1.
  16. Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "Denton" . The American Cyclopædia.
  17. Sales 2007, pp. 4–5.
  18. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  19. "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  20. Almanac 2010.
  21. Estimates of the Population by Age, Sex, and Race/Ethnicity for July 1, 2015 for State of Texas. Texas Demographic Center, U.S. Bureau of the Census State Data Center Program (PDF), July 15, 2015, archived from the original (PDF) on May 4, 2017, retrieved June 8, 2017
  22. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  23. Where Same-Sex Couples Live, June 26, 2015, archived from the original on June 29, 2015, retrieved July 6, 2015
  24. https://www.county.org/About-Texas-Counties/%E2%80%8BAbout-Texas-County-Officials/%E2%80%8BTexas-Justice-of-the-Peace#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20Justice%20of,and%20may%20perform%20marriage%20ceremonies.
  25. "Denton County, TX Elections". www.votedenton.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  26. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’ Archived 2016-11-16 at the Wayback Machine; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  27. Writers, Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe, Caitlyn Jones and Dalton LaFerney Staff. "Five takeaways for Denton County voters after Tuesday's election". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  28. "Texas House District 65". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  29. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  30. Nicholson, Eric (2016-05-03). "In Dallas, White Flight Never Ends". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2019-10-29.

Further reading

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