Denton County is located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the seventh-most populous county in Texas. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was established in 1846. Denton County constitutes part of the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

. In 2007, it was one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States.

History

Before the arrival of settlers, various Native American peoples, including the Kichai and the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

, infrequently populated the area. The area was settled by

Peters Colony Peters ColonyHarry E. Wade, "PETERS COLONY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/uep02), accessed May 15, 2015. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. (Peters' Colony ...

landowners in the early 1840s. Until the

annexation of Texas The Republic of Texas was annexed into the United States and admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico on March 2, 1836. It applied for annexatio ...

, the area was considered part of Fannin County. On April 11, 1846, the

First Texas Legislature The 1st Texas Legislature convened from February 16 to May 13, 1846, in regular session. Members of the House of Representatives and Senate were elected in December 1845, after an election on October 13, 1845, that ratified the proposed state cons ...

established Denton County. The county was named for John B. Denton, who was killed while raiding a Native American village in

Tarrant County Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 U.S. census population of 2,110,640, making it the third-most populous county in Texas and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. T ...

in 1841. Originally, the county seat was set at Pinckneyville. This was later changed to

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

, where the

Old Alton Bridge Old Alton Bridge, also known as Goatman's Bridge, is a historic iron truss bridge connecting the Texas cities of Denton, Texas, Denton and Copper Canyon, Texas, Copper Canyon. Built in 1884 by the King Bridge Company, King Iron Bridge Manufactu ...

currently stands, and then moved finally to Denton. By 1860, the population of the county had increased to 5,031. On March 4, 1861, residents of the county narrowly voted for secession from the Union, with 331 votes cast for and 264 against. The

Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Southern Branch, it came to serve an exten ...

reached Lewisville, located in the southern portion of the county, by the early 1880s. The

Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square The Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square is the former courthouse of Denton County located in the county seat Denton, Texas. The Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square was constructed in 1896. In addition to county offices, the "Courthouse-on-t ...

was built in 1896, and currently houses various government offices, as well as a museum.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (7.8%) are covered by water. Denton County is located in the northern part of the

, about 35 miles south of the border between

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. It is drained by two forks of the Trinity River. The largest body of water in Denton County is

Lewisville Lake Lewisville Lake, formerly known as Garza-Little Elm Reservoir, is a reservoir in North Texas (United States, USA) on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River (Texas), Trinity River in Denton County, Texas, Denton County near Lewisville, Texas, Lewisvil ...

, 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 The term Cross Timbers, also known as Ecoregion 29, Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains, is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas. Made up of a mix of prairi ...

and also encompasses parts of the Grand Prairie portion of the Texas blackland prairies. Portions of Denton County sit atop the

Barnett Shale The Barnett Shale is a geological formation located in the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin. It consists of sedimentary rocks dating from the Mississippian period (354–323 million years ago) in Texas. The formation underlies the city of Fort Worth ...

, 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 associated with

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of Formation (geology), formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the ...

Lakes

Lake Ray Roberts Lake Ray Roberts (formally Ray Roberts Lake) is an artificial American reservoir located north of Denton, Texas, between the cities of Pilot Point, Texas and Sanger, Texas. It is filled by a tributary of the Trinity River. It was named after ...

Adjacent counties

* Cooke County (north) * Grayson County (northeast) *

Collin County Collin County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and a small portion of the city of Dallas is in the county. At the 2020 United States cens ...

(east) * Dallas County (southeast) *

(south) * Wise County (west)

Communities

Cities

Multiple counties

* Carrollton (partly in Dallas County and a small part in Collin County) * Celina (mostly in Collin County) * Coppell (mostly in Dallas County) *

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

(mostly in Dallas County with small parts in Collin, Kaufman, Rockwall and Denton counties) *

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

(mostly in Tarrant County with small parts in

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

Parker Parker may refer to: People * Parker (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Parker (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Arts and entertainment * ''Parke ...

, Wise, and Denton counties) * Frisco (mostly in Collin County) *

Grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, bot ...

(mostly in Tarrant County and a small part in Dallas and Denton counties) *

Haslet Haslet is a pork meatloaf with herbs, originally from Lincolnshire. The British English word is derived from the Old French meaning ''entrails''. In Lincolnshire, haslet (pronounced '/ˈhæslɪt/' locally) is typically made from stale white br ...

(mostly in Tarrant County) * Lewisville (small part in Dallas County) * Plano (mostly in Collin County) * Southlake (mostly in Tarrant County)

Denton County only

Aubrey Aubrey () is a traditionally male English language, English name. It was quite common in the Middle Ages, but had lost favour for a time before experiencing a resurgence of popularity in the 19th century. In the United States, following the 1973 ...

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

* Denton (

) * Highland Village *

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

* Krugerville *

Krum Krum (, ), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome () was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper a ...

* Lake Dallas * Lakewood Village * Little Elm * Oak Point * Pilot Point * Roanoke * Sanger * The Colony

Towns

Multiple counties

Flower Mound Flower Mound is an incorporated town located in Denton and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Located northwest of Dallas and northeast of Fort Worth adjacent to Grapevine Lake, the town derives its name from a prominent mound loca ...

(small part in Tarrant County) *

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

(small part in Collin County) * Prosper (mostly in Collin County) * Trophy Club (small part in Tarrant County) * Westlake (mostly in Tarrant County)

Denton County only

* Argyle * Bartonville * Corral City *

Copper Canyon Copper Canyon (Spanish: Barrancas del Cobre) is a group of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico that is in size. The canyons were formed by six rivers th ...

* Cross Roads * DISH * Double Oak * Hackberry * Hickory Creek *

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

* Northlake * Ponder * Providence Village * Shady Shores

Census-designated places

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial plant, perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropics, tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in num ...

* Paloma Creek * Paloma Creek South *

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

Unincorporated communities

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

(partly in Tarrant County) * Bolivar * Navo

Ghost towns

* Camey Spur * Cooper Creek *

Drop Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to: * Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid ** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes * Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume * Falling (physics), allowing ...

* Elizabethtown * Green Valley * Marshall Creek * Mayhill * Mingo * Mustang * Parvin * Plainview * Stony

Demographics

According to the 2010 United States census, there were 662,614 people, 224,840 households and 256,139 housing units in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . By the 2020 census, its population increased to 906,422, representing continued population growth among suburban communities outside of the principal metropolitan cities of

and

. Denton County ranked 29th on the U.S. Census Bureau's list of fastest-growing counties between 2000 and 2007, with a 41.4% increase in population. In 2010, 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. The 2020 census determined the racial and ethnic makeup was 53.58% non-Hispanic white, 10.52% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 10.23% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.43% some other race, 4.60% multiracial, and 20.16% Hispanic or Latino American of any race, reflecting state and national demographic trends of greater diversification. A

Williams Institute The Williams Institute is a public policy research institute based at the UCLA School of Law focused on sexual orientation and gender identities issues. History The Williams Institute was founded in 2001 through a grant by Charles R. "Chuck" ...

analysis of 2010 census data found about 5.2

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

per 1,000 households in the county.

Government and politics

Government

Denton County, like all counties in Texas, is governed by a commissioner's court, which consists of the

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civi ...

(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 involving fines only (no jail time), and other matters.

County judge and commissioners

County officials

Justices of the peace

Law enforcement

The Denton Sheriff's Office employs more than 600 people, for the Denton County Sheriff's Office, most in the Detention Bureau. The office operates a county jail that houses up to 1,400 prisoners. The office is co-located with the jail at 127 North Woodrow Lane in the city of Denton. As of 2021, the current sheriff is Tracy Murphree, who was first elected in 2016. That election was particularly contentious, with previous sheriff William B. Travis dogged by scandal, and new candidate Murphree making headlines for threatening violence against

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

people.

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 Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...

earned 45.52% of the county's votes and two Democrats were elected. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the county was native Texan

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, 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, former State Representative

Michelle Beckley Michelle Jane Beckley (born November 28, 1969) is a former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 65. She was first elected in November 2018, defeating incumbent Republican Ron Simmons. Texas' 65th district repre ...

became the first Democrat elected to the state legislature from Denton County since 1984. Her district at the time, the former 65th, was located entirely within Denton County, and included significant portions of Carrollton, Highland Village and Lewisville. Beckley stepped down from the seat in 2022 to run for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, and ultimately it was won back by the Republican nominee. Also in 2018, Christopher Lopez was elected to Justice of the Peace, Precinct 6, and became the first Democrat elected at the county level since 2004; Lopez held the JP6 position until a Republican challenger unseated him in 2022. Despite a Republican advantage, Denton County has trended leftward, as

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

managed to win 45.2% of the vote share (compared to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's 53.3%) in the 2020 presidential election, the best result for a Democrat since 1976. Many other suburban Texas counties, including its immediate neighbors in Collin and Tarrant Counties, as well as those around

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, showed similar swings between 2016 and 2020. However, in 2024 many of these swung back toward Trump, though Trump carried Denton County by a considerably smaller margin than in 2016.

United States Representatives

Texas state representatives

Texas state senators

State Board of Education members

Education

K-12 schools

These school districts lie entirely within Denton County: * Argyle Independent School District * Aubrey Independent School District *

Denton Independent School District Denton Independent School District, sometimes shortened to Denton ISD, is a school district based in Denton, Texas. DISD's superintendent is Susannah O'Bara. During the 2021-2022 school year, the District served 31,951 students. In 2009, th ...

Lake Dallas Independent School District Lake Dallas Independent School District is a public school district based in Lake Dallas, Texas (USA). In addition to Lake Dallas, the district serves almost all of the town of Hickory Creek as well as portions of Corinth and Shady Shores. ...

Lewisville Independent School District Lewisville Independent School District (LISD) is a 127-square mile school district based in Lewisville, Texas, Lewisville, Texas (United States, USA) covering all of Lewisville, Texas, Lewisville, The Colony, Texas, The Colony, Highland Village, ...

Little Elm Independent School District The Little Elm Independent School District is a public school district in Denton County, Texas. In 2019, the Texas Education Agency rated the District with a "B" rating . History In 1865 a one-room log cabin was first used as one of the fir ...

Ponder Independent School District Ponder Independent School District is a public school district based in Ponder, Texas, United States. In 2009, the school district was rated " academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is th ...

* Sanger Independent School District These school districts lie partly within Denton County: *

Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (CFBISD) is a school district based in Carrollton, Texas, United States. The district covers most of the cities of Carrollton and Farmers Branch and parts of Addison, Coppell, Dallas, an ...

Celina Independent School District Celina Independent School District (CISD) is a public school district based in Celina, Texas, United States. Location In addition to Celina, the district serves a portion of Weston. Located in Collin County, a small portion of the district ...

Era Independent School District Era Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Era, Texas (United States). The district is located in southwestern Cooke County and extends into a small portion of northern Denton County. Era ISD has o ...

Frisco Independent School District Frisco Independent School District is a public school district based in Frisco, Texas, United States. The district covers portions of Denton County, Texas, Denton and Collin County, Texas, Collin counties, including portions of the cities of Fr ...

* Krum Independent School District *

Northwest Independent School District Northwest Independent School District (Northwest ISD) is a North Texas public school district with its headquarters in the city of Fort Worth, Texas ( USA). with a Justin postal address. The school district is named for its location in the nort ...

* Pilot Point Independent School District *

Prosper Independent School District Prosper Independent School District (PISD or Prosper ISD) is a public school district based in Prosper, Texas, Prosper, Texas, United States. Located in Collin County, Texas, Collin County, a portion of the district extends into Denton County, T ...

Slidell Independent School District Slidell Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Slidell, Texas (USA). Located in Wise County, a portion of the district extends into Denton, Cooke, and Montague counties. The small community of G ...

These private educational institutions serve Denton County: * Denton Calvary Academy * Coram Deo Academy * Lakeland Christian Academy * Liberty Christian School * Selwyn College Preparatory School 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.

Colleges and universities

According to the Texas Education Code, most of Denton County is assigned to

North Central Texas College North Central Texas College (NCTC) is a Public college, public community college in Gainesville, Texas. It serves Cooke County, Texas, Cooke County, Denton County, Texas, Denton County, and Montague County, Texas. History As with many of the ...

for

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

. However, portions within Celina ISD, Prosper ISD, and the municipalities of Frisco and The Colony are instead assigned to

Collin College Collin College is a Public college, public community college district in Texas. Established in 1985, the district has grown as the county has grown from around 5,000 students in 1986 to more than 60,000 credit and noncredit students. Formerl ...

(formerly Collin County Community College), and portions zoned to Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD are assigned to

Dallas College Dallas College is a public community college with seven campuses in Dallas County, Texas. It serves more than 70,000 students annually in degree-granting, continuing education, and adult education programs. Dallas College offers associate degr ...

(formerly Dallas County Community College District). These four year higher-education institutions serve Denton County: *

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

(UNT) *

Texas Woman's University Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a Public research university, public coeducational research university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, ...

Transportation

The

Denton County Transportation Authority The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) is the transit authority that operates in Denton County, Texas. It operates transit service in three cities within Denton County, as well as the A-train, a regional commuter rail line to Carroll ...

(DCTA) operates fixed-route bus services, on-demand GoZone service, and ACCESS paratransit 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 is a series of business simulation video games developed and published by Japanese game developer Artdink in Japan. The first game in the series was published in 1985. The first release in the United States was ''Take the A-Train II'', publis ...

, a

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

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 Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is a transit agency serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex of Texas. It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and twelve of its suburbs. In , the system had a r ...

(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 Denton Enterprise Airport , also known as Denton Airport and previously Denton Municipal Airport, is a city-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) west of the central business district of Denton, a city in Denton Cou ...

and the Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas region, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Airlines, which is headquartere ...

is located a few miles south of the county.

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Notable people

Dick Armey Richard Keith Armey (; born July 7, 1940) is an American economist and politician. He was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Texas's (1985–2003) and Party Leaders of the United States House of Representatives, ...

, former U.S. House Majority Leader and a chief architect of the Contract with America. *

Joan Blondell Rose Joan Blondell (August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on a film career, estab ...

, film and television actress, attended UNT (then North Texas State Teacher's College) in 1926–1927. *

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

, American pop singer, briefly attended UNT. *

Bowling for Soup Bowling for Soup is an American rock band formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion), and Rob Felicetti (bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar). The band i ...

, American rock band, based in Denton since 1996 and mentioned the county in their song Ohio (Come Back to Texas) *

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...

, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback *

Mason Cox Mason Cox (born March 14, 1991) is an American-Australian professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Playing as a ruckman and key forward, he first played Austr ...

, professional Australian rules footballer, playing for Collingwood in the

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

Phyllis George Phyllis Ann George (June 25, 1949 – May 14, 2020) was an American businesswoman, actress, and sportscaster. In 1975, George was hired as a reporter and co-host of the CBS Sports pre-show ''The NFL Today'', becoming one of the first women t ...

, 1971 Miss America, sportscaster and former First Lady of Kentucky *

Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1981. A ...

, defensive tackle for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, 1969–1981; 1969 defensive rookie of the year; 1972 and 1974 defensive player of the year; NFL 1970s all-decade team; Hall of Fame *

Jim Hightower James Allen Hightower (born January 11, 1943) is an American syndicated columnist, progressive political activist, and author. From 1983 to 1991 he served as the elected commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture. He publishes a mon ...

, former Texas Agriculture Commissioner *

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

, UNT jazz major *

Henry Lee Lucas Henry Lee Lucas (August 23, 1936 – March 12, 2001), also known as The Confession Killer, was an American convicted murderer. Lucas was convicted of murdering his mother in 1960 and two others in 1983. He rose to infamy as a claimed serial ...

, serial killer, known as the "Confession Killer", committed a 1982 murder in Denton that ultimately led to his arrest *

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

, American singer and actor, attended UNT *

Gordon McLendon Gordon Barton McLendon (June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986Texas State Historical AssociationMcClendon, Gordon Barton/ref>) was an American radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during ...

, radio broadcaster and pioneer, B-movie producer, and conservative political financier * Laina Morris - the Overly Attached Girlfriend *

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers; June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Council ...

, White House press secretary in the Johnson Administration (1965–67), attended UNT *

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...

, author, attended TWU and UNT, married in Denton *

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937), '' Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), '' They Drive by Night'' (1940), '' ...

, the "Oomph Girl", popular actress and singer, born and raised in Denton *

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...

, the musician and frontman of Sly and the Family Stone *

Rex Tillerson Rex Tillerson is an American energy executive who served as the 69th United States secretary of state from 2017 to 2018 in the first administration of Donald Trump. From 2006 to 2016, he was chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Exxon ...

, former CEO of

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

and 69th

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

, resident of Bartonville *

Von Erich family The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member working in wrestling has used the ring name "Von Erich" after family patriarch Fritz Von Erich (real nam ...

, multigenerational professional wrestling family, known for a series of premature deaths sometimes referred to as the Von Erich curse *

Tex Watson Charles Denton "Tex" Watson (born December 2, 1945) is an American mass murderer who was a central member of the "Manson Family" led by Charles Manson. Watson is often described as the tactical ringleader of the Tate-LaBianca murders on August ...

, central member of the "Manson family" and leader of the Tate-LaBianca murders in August 1969.

References

External links

Denton County government's website

Headlines about Denton County from ''The Dallas Morning News''

Denton County entry
in the ''

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

'' Online at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Denton County Texas Almanac Page

Historic Denton County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.

''Captain John B. Denton, preacher, lawyer and soldier. His life and times in Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas by Wm. Allen.''
published 1905, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
{{authority control 1846 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1846

History

Geography

Lakes

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities

Multiple counties

Denton County only

Towns

Multiple counties

Denton County only

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Demographics

Government and politics

Government

County judge and commissioners

County officials

Justices of the peace

Law enforcement

Politics

United States Representatives

Texas state representatives

Texas state senators

State Board of Education members

Education

K-12 schools

Colleges and universities

Transportation

Major highways

Notable people

See also

References

Further reading

External links