Denton County Courthouse (Texas No. 24)

Reputed to be the second most photographed courthouse in Texas is the Denton County Courthouse in Denton.  The Romanesque style structure was built in 1896.

Denton was the last stop of the second day on my recent courthouse-hunting road trip.  The next morning just after dawn I headed on down the road and my next destination took me back into the old downtown area right by the courthouse and I couldn't resist another shot of it in the early morning light.

I think it's pretty cool that the courthouse has its own custom-made door handles!

Denton County was named for John B. Denton, a Methodist minister, lawyer, and militia captain who was killed in 1841 in an Indian battle.  Denton became a legendary folk hero in the area, and in 1856, John Chisum, a successful rancher in the area remembered the stories his father told him of Denton’s death. When a grave was discovered by some boys along Oliver Creek, Chisum investigated. Some survivors of the Indian raid which had resulted in Denton's death identified the bones as Denton's by the blanket they were wrapped in, an old broken arm, and some gold teeth. Chisum took the body back to his home and kept it in a box, hoping a family member would claim it. When no one did, he buried Denton’s body in the corner of the yard near his house. When he sold his property to J.M. Waide years later, he left written instructions with an old friend, J.W. Gober.  I don't find a reference as to what kind of instructions were left but the story goes that in 1900 the Old Settler’s Association of Denton County wanted to bury Denton in the city that bears his name. They placed an advertisement in the paper which Gober answered, producing the letter written by Chisum. The body of Denton was exhumed once again and buried during an elaborate ceremony on the lawn of the Denton County Courthouse on November 21, 1901.

Denton County is one of the few counties in Texas whose county seat shares the same name (now that's a whole 'nother post!) and is one of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S.  The city of Denton is 38 miles south of the Texas/Oklahoma border and 39 miles north of Dallas.  Today it is part of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex.  One of its nicknames is Little D (Dallas being Big D).

Population of Denton County:  663,000
Population of Denton:  113,000