Stony is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

Denton County Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the seventh-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was esta ...

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 ...

. The former town site is between Old Stoney Road and Farm to Market Road 2622 (FM 2622) in the western portion of Denton County. Stony is one of the three ghost towns in Denton County, which also include Elizabethtown and Drop, and one of many

ghost towns in Texas In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

History

Stony was first settled in the late 1850s and was named for the stony, rocky area it resided in. The population started out at only around a couple people, but it never exceeded a population of over 50. Stony opened a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

in 1879, but it only lasted until 1918. The town had a rather small boom in the 1880s. In 1884, the town opened a mill, a gin, four churches, two schools, and had a population of around 130.

Decline

Stony started losing most of its population by 1890, when the population dropped to 50. However, in 1914, the population re-surged a bit and grew to 100 residents. The town now had a doctor, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, and two more stores. In time, though, many of the original residents moved to

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) ...

, about eight miles southwest of Stony. From 1933 to 2000, the population was estimated to only be around 25, and around the same time, Stony was beginning to be removed off of most maps. In 2004, a restored log cabin dating back to 1839 was open to the public as a museum from the abandoned town, and other buildings such as an 1884 schoolhouse.

Current state

Stony currently resides as a ghost town, but it often attracts many history buffs and

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. One citizen of Denton County, Bill Marquis, has made efforts in trying to restore Stony and enlighten people on its history and existence. He even opened his own store.

Geography

Stony, Texas, resides in far-west Denton County near the Wise County line on FM 2622 and Old Stoney Road. The town currently is a ghost town, but as stated previously, there have been efforts in restoring it to its former glory. The zip code for the area is 76259. Nearby towns and cities include Justin, Ponder, Decatur,

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 ...

, and Denton.

References

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