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Erected in 1895, the former Denton County Courthouse is now the Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum.

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The former Denton County Courthouse is historically significant for its architecture and its role as the seat of county government from 1896, when it was built, to the late 1970s. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building is a fine example of Romanesque architecture and is made of limestone and sandstone. Designed by W.C. Dodson, it features a central tower, arches, columns, and other notable elements. The building is now home to the Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum, which opened in 1979 and is located on the first floor. The museum is operated by the Office of History and Culture (OHC) and houses a variety of exhibits featuring a range of artifacts and other items showcasing Denton County history. The building is also the location of the OHC's Special Collections, which is open to researchers by appointment only.

Denton County Courthouse (Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum)

This short walking tour through downtown Denton starts at the city's historical park which includes numerous buildings that are full of artifacts that preserve and share the history of prominent families and the city's diverse communities. The tour includes buildings, monuments, and museums, including the former Denton County Courthouse which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and home to the Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum. 

Bayless-Selby House Samuel Bayless built the home in the 1880s. He expanded the house in 1898 and included electricity (for lighting only) and plumbing. In 1920, R. L. Selby purchased it and it remained in the family until 1970. Visitors can enjoy a free guided tour of this house museum, and its wrap-around porch and gardens. An interesting item on display is a hair wreath with hair from 17 members of the same family.&nbsp; Quakertown House This home is named after a neighborhood&nbsp;within Denton called Quakertown, which was where the local African American community was located. Quakertown began to form in the 1870s and eventually had schools, churches, and businesses. However, in 1921 the city voted to buy Quakertown in order to create a park, thereby forcing the residents to leave. Many of the homes there were torn down but some were relocated to an area called Solomon Hill. The Quakertown House, which was built in 1904 for Arthur E. and Docia Brewer,&nbsp;was one of them. In 2004, it was moved to the park and restored. The museum opened in 2008. Taylor Cabin The Taylor Cabin was built by Augustus and Esther Serren in c.1868. The family made a living running a farm on the property, growing corn, cotton, and peanuts. They also raised cattle and made butter. The house didn't get electricity until the 1940s. The family owned the cabin in until 2012 when a descendant donated it to the county.

Denton County Historical Park features a number of Denton's most historic structures. These include the Bayless-Selby House Museum, the Quakertown House museum, the Taylor Log Cabin, and the Woods House. The park also has green space used for a variety of public events and a welcome center. The Queen-Anne style Bayless-Selby House features furniture, hand-painted porcelain, musical instruments, and other artifacts from the turn-of-the-century. It also features long-term exhibits on the second floor. The Quakertown House was built in 1904 and is the location of the African American Museum. The Taylor Cabin was built in 1868 and moved to the park in 2016; it is one of the oldest structures remaining in Denton. 

Denton County Historical Park

Edwin D. Moten Collection is one of the highlights of the museum. Moten was the only African American physician in the county at the turn-of-the century and his collection includes photos, diaries, and letters that allow a glimpse into the early Black community of Denton. The&nbsp;Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum also includes artifacts that belonged to Moten.&nbsp;

Located in a historic home that was built in 1904 and part of the African American community of Quakertown, the museum chronicles the history of African Americans in Denton County. The museum opened in 2008. 

Denton County African American Museum

The United Daughters of the Confederacy was established decades after the Civil War with the intent of cultivating support for the Confederate cause among a new generation of white Southerners. In contrast to Ladies Memorial Associations that oversaw the burial of Confederate dead and dedicated monuments in cemeteries, the UDC's primary mission was to vindicate the Confederacy and the organization dedicated monuments in public squares. The organization also dedicated funds to assisting Confederate veterans and other charitable causes, but the organization dedicated most of its efforts to creating monuments that reflected their worldview.&nbsp; The intent of the UDC can be seen in the way that members petitioned school leaders to alter their curriculum in ways that glorified the Confederacy and minimized the evils of slavery. For example, a Texas chapter of the UDC worked to make sure that the following&nbsp;U. D. C. Catechism for Children&nbsp;was recited in schools throughout the state. Other UDC chapters around the nation followed suit and generations of white Southern children recited the following selections of the UDC catechism as part of a call-and-response exercise in public schools:&nbsp; <div><ul><li>Q: What causes led to the war between the States, from 1861 to 1865?</li><li>A; The disregard, on the part of States of the North, for the rights of the Southern or slave-holding States.</li><li>Q: How was this shown?</li><li>A: By the passage of laws in the Nothern States annulling the rights of the people of the South—rights that were given to them by the Constitution of the United States.</li><li>Q: What were these rights?</li><li>A: The rights to regulate their own affairs and to hold slaves as property.</li><li>Q: How were the slaves treated?&nbsp;</li><li>A: With great kindness and care in nearly all cases, a cruel master being rare</li></ul></div><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div>Leaders of the UDC now claim that their organization has changed and no longer defends slavery. However, UDC members throughout the nation have threatened African Americans and others who have pushed for the removal of monuments and have even threatened to sue to&nbsp;prevent the dedication of monuments to civil rights leaders. UDC members have also consistently opposed the addition of signage from scholars and local historical societies that would offer historical context.&nbsp; In 2018, after a long period of public debate, especially in the context of other Confederate monuments and statues that had been removed in other parts of the South, the Denton County Commissioners Court decided to keep the memorial where it is but add signage to offer historical context. It was recommended that a plaque denouncing slavery and racial superiority be placed below the statue and that an interactive kiosk be installed nearby. As May 2019, it is unclear whether these have been installed yet.

The Denton County Confederate Memorial, located on the south side of the former courthouse building, was erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1918 to honor the Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. Located on Hickory Street, the monument depicts a soldier standing atop a stone arch. Calls to remove the memorial began in 2000 as local resident Willie Hudspeth and other African Americans raised awareness of the intent of the monument. An influential organization in the American South in the early 1900s, the United Daughters of the Confederacy were dedicated to vindication of the antebellum South and many members published books and articles that presented slavery as a benign institution that benefitted African Americans. 

Denton County Confederate Memorial

Located on the northeast corner of the downtown square, this
building stood in the 1900s as the Wright Opera House, created and owned by
William Crow Wright.1 The Wright Opera House was constructed following an
unfortunate incident that proved fortunate for the citizens of Denton, who were
in need of a public hall to provide entertainment. In 1894 the old Denton
courthouse was struck by lightning and condemned due to extensive damages.2 William Crow Wright purchased the condemned courthouse for $750&nbsp;along with Block 6 (the entire northeast corner of the
square) for $5,965.3 William Crow Wright was a rancher
born in Clarksville, Texas, in 1837.4 Wright founded a horse ranch called Chain Seven Ranch with
his brother in Denton County.5 He acquired other lands in different counties in West
Texas and struggled to maintain them <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"></a>over the years due to Indian attacks,
horse thieves, and the Civil War— which he fought in.6 Wright later retired from ranching and sold all of his
landholdings in the 1880s, except those in Denton County, which he left to his
family.7 It was in 1900 that he invested in building an opera house.The construction of the opera house
cost Wright around 25,000 dollars.8 The opera house was fashioned in Victorian style with a
facade of ornate Italianate architecture on the outside.9 According to a report written about the opera house days
before its opening, it was “very prettily arranged inside” and furnished with
thick carpets, lots of seating, a large stage, and a new drop curtain.10 The opera house was located in the west half of the upper
story of the building, and the first floor was leased to an agricultural
machinery store, Parlin and Orendorff Company.11The Opera House officially opened on
February 14, 1900.12&nbsp;The first performance held in the Opera House was a light
opera called Finnegan’s Ball, performed by the company of Murray and Mack.13 For a while the Wright Opera House was able to hold many
musical and dramatic performances from traveling companies that traveled through
the Dallas/Fort Worth area.14 For
example, an ad from the Denton County News newspaper in 1903 advertised that, “Auber’s beautiful, romantic, musical story FRA DIAVALO&nbsp;will be presented by
The Olympia Opera Co.”15 Another advertisement from the Denton County News in 1903 announced, “Mr. J Rollin Hayward presents MISS MAY STEWART performing a comedy called&nbsp;The
Sculpters Dream&nbsp;with “special stage settings and magnificent costumes.”16In addition to operas, the hall space was used for a
variety of events, ranging from an Old Fiddler’s contest, meetings for
dignitaries, and high school commencement ceremonies.17 There were yearly commencement exercises for John B
Denton College as well as Denton High School.18 A boxing match between a local boxer and semi-pro boxer
from Dallas was the last event held in the opera house.19 In 1906 William Wright died.20 Virgil Flow took over management of the opera house and
over the next few years the Opera House’s popularity began to dwindle.21 Fewer traveling acts performed and smaller crowds
frequented the hall. This decline was mainly due to the rise in popularity of
motion picture houses where shows cost only ten to twenty cents each.22 The competition from motion picture houses paired with the
lack of supervision by Wright led to the Wright Opera House closing in 1913.23The opera house received some use in
1915 and 1916 when it was leased as a theater by Clarence and Vernon Brownlow.24 It was then reopened in 1918 by Jay Hardson as the Majestic
Motion Picture Theater. In 1935 it was sold to Martin Kornblatt and remodeled completely.
The stage and high ceiling were removed, and the space was converted into
office rooms.25 A department store called The Boston Store occupied the
space, followed later by the Kibbler Office Supply Store.26 In the 1980s, the store lay vacant.27In
1990, ownership of the historic building went to Recycled Books Records CDs,
who moved from a crowded space near Texas Women’s University to the former opera
house as their business expanded.28 In 1998 the building’s exterior was painted the purple
color that it is today.29 Recycled Books Records CDs is still in business today, and
has become a trademark location of Denton.<div><div><div>

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The building that is today the Recycled Books Records CDs store in the downtown square of Denton dates back to the early 1900s. This resale store was originally home to the Wright Opera House. Constructed by rancher William Crow Wright after the old Denton courthouse was struck by lightning in 1894 and condemned, a grand opera house was built in its place which enjoyed a short life as the pride of Denton from 1900 to 1913. 

Wright Opera House

The Denton Firefighters’ Museum preserves and promotes the city's over 150-year firefighting history. Numerous items from its collection are on display including memorabilia, an 1800s hose cart, various fire apparatus, fire extinguishers, fire grenades, uniforms, helmets, and fire report logs. The museum opened in 2005 and is self guided, but tours can be arranged by appointment. 

History of Denton Texas Walking Tour

Denton County Courthouse (Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum)

Introduction

Images

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Additional Information