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 courtroom 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 the city 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 State District Court, Constitutional County Court, County Court at Law and Probate Court. The building is named as the Denton County Courts Building.
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 )
County Courthouse -
County Courts Building
Photos taken 2006, 2014 and 2019