1848 Denton County Seat

Originally part of the Republic of Texas’ Fannin County, Denton County was established in 1846, when the first legislature of the State of Texas created and organized thirty-one new counties. Before Denton became the county seat in 1857, the county had three other seats. In 1846, Pinckneyville was established in the geographic center of the county, but many early settlers were located farther southeast. In 1848, the seat was moved to the first Alton, on a ridge between present-day Pecan and Hickory Creeks, four miles south of Denton near Corinth. Early settlers and brothers Enoch and Lorenzo Moore, who were from Alton, Illinois, chose the name, and William Creth Baines, the town’s only resident, used his home as the legal county seat. A post office was established there in 1848 with Stephen A. Venters as the first postmaster. A well dug at the first Alton site was dry, and because of the lack of water, the town was moved in 1851 to the residence area of Alexander E. Cannon on Hickory Creek. This second Alton, now known as Old Alton, drew water from nearby Hickory Creek and by 1855 had at least two stores, a post office, and a hotel. In 1857, after citizens unhappy with Alton’s progress sought a change, the county seat was moved to a more central location in present-day Denton. Denton County voters accepted an offer from Hiram Cisco, William Loving, and William Woodruff to provide 100 acres for a new county seat, and the new town near the county’s center was named Denton in 1857.

Corinth, Texas · United States