Survey of Southeast Denton's older homes and churches starts with a Dec. 3 community meeting

The city is launching a survey to find buildings and landmarks in Southeast Denton that may qualify for historic designation, and it is asking longtime residents to help fill in the history.

A community meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, at the American Legion Hall Senior Center will explain how the survey works, according to a city news release reported by the Denton Record-Chronicle. Residents will be able to talk with historic preservation specialists from SWCA Environmental Consultants, the firm the city hired to carry out the work. The survey itself begins the same day.

Kayla Herrod, the city's chief communications officer, described the effort in the release as "an important step in advancing the Southeast Denton Area Plan's goals to honor and preserve architectural and cultural heritage."

What happens next

• Dec. 4-6: SWCA staff will walk the neighborhood recording homes and churches built before 1981. They will wear high-visibility vests marked "SWCA" and can show a business card on request.
• December through February 2027: The team will research the area through oral history interviews, deed records, old newspapers, maps, city directories and local histories.
• February to April: Results will be compiled to identify properties and districts eligible for nomination to the historic register.
• From April: The team will work with owners of properties that could be nominated to the National Register.

The city stressed that being identified in the survey does not require an owner to seek a designation.

Bring the old photos

People coming to the Dec. 3 meeting are encouraged to bring blueprints, church bulletins, directories, letters, maps, photographs or yearbooks, which the team will scan or photograph on the spot. Family stories are also welcome, particularly from anyone who lived in Southeast Denton before 1981. Those who cannot attend can contact principal planner Julie Wyatt or senior planner Sean Jacobson in the city's planning department.

"Preserving the history of Southeast Denton is about more than buildings," Planning Director Hayley Zagurski said in the release. "It's just as much about honoring the stories and people who shaped the community."

Randy Hunt of Historic Denton told the Record-Chronicle that a state historic designation brings a marker and a listing as a historical landmark but no added protections. "It just recognizes the house is historic and has some value," he told the paper.

Sources

Denton Record-Chronicle