Denton County, Texas

Denton County is a in the  of Texas. , its population was 662,614, making it the ninth-most populous county in Texas. The is Denton, The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was established in 1846.

Denton County is included in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas-Arlington, TX. In 2007, it was one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States.

History
Before the arrival of white settlers, various peoples, including the  and the, infrequently populated the area. The area was settled by Peters Colony landowners in the early 1840s. Until the annexation of Texas, the area was considered part of Fannin County. On April 11, 1846, the First Texas Legislature established Denton County. The county was named for John B. Denton, who was killed while raiding a village in Tarrant County in 1841. Originally, the county seat was set at Pickneyville. This was later changed to Alton, where the 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, with 331 votes cast for and 264 against. The reached Lewisville, located in the southern portion of the county, by the early 1880s. The was built in 1896, and today the building currently houses various government offices as well as a museum.

Lakes


According to the, the county has a total area of 953 sqmi, of which 878 sqmi is land and 75 sqmi (7.8%) is water. Denton County is located in the northern part of the, approximately 35 miles south of the border between Texas and Oklahoma. It is drained by two forks of the. The largest body of water in Denton County is, 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 and also encompasses parts of the Grand Prairie portion of the. Portions of Denton County sit atop the, a geological formation believed to contain large quantities of. 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 resulting from.

Adjacent counties

 * Cooke County (north)
 * Grayson County (northeast)
 * Collin County (east)
 * Dallas County (southeast)
 * Tarrant County (south)
 * Wise County (west)

Demographics
As of the, there were 662,614 people, 224,840 households and 256,139 housing units in the county. The was 754.3 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 75% White, 8.4% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 6.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 2.9% from two or more races. 18.2% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino origin. Denton County ranked twenty-ninth on the US Census Bureau's list of fastest-growing counties between 2000 and 2007, with a 41.4% increase in population.

A Williams Institute analysis of found there were about 5.2  per 1,000 households in the county.

Transportation
The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) operates a bus 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, a commuter rail service runs from Denton to Carrollton, at which station passengers can switch to the Green Line train owned and operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (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 and the Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke. is located a few miles south of the county.

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 (mostly in Dallas County with small parts in Collin, Kaufman, Rockwall and Denton counties)
 * Fort Worth (mostly in Tarrant County with small parts in Parker, Wise and Denton counties)
 * Frisco (mostly in Collin County)
 * Grapevine (mostly in Tarrant County and a small part in Dallas County)
 * Haslet (mostly in Tarrant County)
 * Lewisville (small part in Dallas County)
 * Plano (mostly in Collin County)
 * Southlake (mostly in Tarrant County)

Cities

 * Argyle
 * Aubrey
 * Corinth
 * Denton (county seat)
 * Highland Village
 * Justin
 * Krugerville
 * Krum
 * Lake Dallas
 * Lakewood Village
 * Little Elm
 * Oak Point
 * Pilot Point
 * Roanoke
 * Sanger
 * The Colony

Towns (multiple counties)

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

Towns

 * Bartonville
 * Copper Canyon
 * Corral City
 * Cross Roads
 * DISH
 * Double Oak
 * Hackberry
 * Hickory Creek
 * Lincoln Park
 * Northlake
 * Ponder
 * Providence Village
 * Shady Shores

Census-designated places

 * Lantana
 * Paloma Creek
 * Paloma Creek South
 * Savannah

Unincorporated community

 * Alliance (partly in Tarrant County)
 * Bolivar
 * Navo

Ghost Town

 * Elizabethtown

Websites



 * Census.gov QuickFacts for Denton County
 * Census.gov Facts page for Denton County