Denton County - American Courthouses

Denton County is named for John B Denton, who was a pioneer preacher and lawyer, and who was killed in an Indian fight in 1841.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Cooke County and Grayson County

E – Collin County

S – Dallas County and Tarrant County

W – Wise County

Created: April 11, 1846

County Seat:

Pickneyville 1846 – 1848

Old Alton 1848 – 1850

Denton 1850 – present

County Courthouse – Denton

Location: 110 West Hickory Street / North Elm Street

Built: 1895 – 1896

Style: Second Empire and Romanesque Revival

Architect: Wesley Clarke Dodson of Waco

Contractor: Tom Lovell of Denton

Description: The building faces west and is a three story native yellowish course colored limestone, Burnet County marble and granite structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Denton. The building has granite pillars on the corners and in the center sections of the building. There is a pavilion at each corner with black colored roof. In the building center is a large tower with four pavilions and an octagonal central tower with clock and black colored roof topping out as a thin spire. In the interior, the stairs are metal and the hallways are narrow with arches. At the center of the building is a small rotunda rising to the dome. The former County District Court courtroom ( Commissioner’s Meeting Room ) is located on the north side of the second story and rising into the third story with surrounding balcony along the wall. The building was renovated in 2004. The architect was Architexas and the contractor was Joe R Jones.

See: The architect, Wesley Clark Dodson of Waco, also designed the courthouses in Coryell County, Fannin County, Hill County, Hood County, Lampasas County and Parker County.

See: The contractor, Tom Lovell of Denton, also constructed courthouses in Brazoria County, Brewster County, Coryell County, Hamilton County, Hardeman County, Hill County, McLennan County and Runnels County.

Note: During construction, Julius Peterson plastered the inside walls for $868. J O Bell painted the interior of the courthouse for $2,225. Long & McCormick furnished the plumbing fixtures and the Waco Electric Supply and Construction Company provided wiring and fixtures.

County Courts Building – Denton

Location: 1450 East McKinney Street / North Ruddell Street

Built: 1996 – 1998

Style: Modern

Architect: Phillips Swager Associates of Dallas

Contractor: Huber, Hunt & Nichols, Inc.

Description: The building faces north and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Denton to the east of the courthouse. The north front has a projecting center section with five rectangular opening on the first and second stories, square windows on the third story and pediment at the roof line. The building has east and west wings with vertical windows on the first and second stories and square windows on the third story. The roof line is flat. The north interior has a large entrance foyer with a grand staircase. The courtrooms are located on the second story. The building houses the County District Court, Constitutional County Court, County Court at Law and County Probate Court of the 8th Administrative Judicial Region. The building is named as the Denton County Courts Building.

Note: The Charlie J Cole Building located at 210 South Woodrow Lane and Troy H Legrove Drive to the southeast of the center of Denton houses the County Court at Law of the 8th Administrative Judicial Region.

See: The 8th Administrative Judicial Region has a main office in Forth Worth in Tarrant County.

History: The county was created in 1846 and Pinckneyville was selected as the county seat. The first court met at Pinckneyville and the first courthouse was a log structure built at Old Alton in 1848 when the county seat was moved. The county seat was moved to Denton in 1850. The third courthouse was a two story wood structure built in 1851 in Denton and burned in 1875. The fourth courthouse was a brick structure built in 1877 at a cost of $40,000. The building was demolished to make way for the fifth and present courthouse constructed in 1896 to 1898 at a cost of $150,000. The Courts Building was constructed in 1994 to 1996 at a cost of $16,000,000.

Other Courthouses

Flower Mound ( Southwest Courthouse )