Quakertown was a thriving community of African American residents and businesses from around 1870 until 1920. During this time, The Girls Industrial College, now Texas Woman’s University, was established next to Quakertown. About 15 years after the establishment of the college, the residents were forced to sell their homes and move to a new location. The Chamber of Commerce proposed a park in place of the community as a way to rid the area of the longtime residents. The city provided them with a new space to move their homes, Solomon Hill, where they were also forced to live without electricity or water. Further, because of the forced sale of their homes, the city did not pay market price for the homes in Quakertown. Residents were left with little capital to relocate in town. Thus, the once thriving community was demolished in favor of a park near the girls college.

Remembering Quakertown:
A Look into The Community that Once Was

While early twentieth-century histories of Denton chronicle the strides made by the College of Industrial Arts, few mention Quakertown’s thriving middle and working-class Black community. The only published reference to Quaker, which residents had named it in honor of northern abolitionist Quakers who had taken in runaway slaves (a name representing freedom), is in C.A. Bridges’ 1979 history of Denton, in which he discusses the black community within the context of the movement for a city park (Glaze, 1991, The Denton Review).

After the chance discovery of an original Quakertown cistern in 1989 in then-Civic Center Park, it has really only been in the last thirty years that actions have been taken to remember the community that was Quakertown, especially through historical research and publications of both non-fiction and fictionalized historical accounts of the residents. An important source is historian Randy Hunt’s work through Historic Denton, Inc., where he offers a virtual tour of Quaker set in 1921, a year before the forced relocation of Quaker and the removal of their neighborhood. Hunt also refers to the Story of Quakertown article referenced above (Glaze, 1991), which was the first documentation of the events that lead to the destruction of the Black enclave of Quaker and the formation of Civic Center Park, which was later renamed Quakertown Park by the City of Denton in the early 2000’s.

In February 2022, Hunt states that Historic Denton has been approved to provide the Texas Historical Commission with a Historic Resource Survey of the original areas of the Southeast Denton area. To gain this, he illustrated why the neighborhood is significant through the Virtual Tour and a narrative explaining how Southeast Denton developed. As Quaker residents were relocated to Solomon Hill, the names of the streets were tied to the residents who were relocated, such as Skinner and Maddox streets. 

Hunt’s challenge to the City of Denton during Black History Month 2022 - the 100th anniversary of what occurred at Quakertown - How do we remember our history? Hunt has three suggestions:

1. The City Council approved the Sign Topper Program, and the Solomon Hill neighborhood created by former residents of Quaker will be the first to participate in this program. See the following for more information on the Sign Topper Program:

2. The location and families of each home/building of Quaker is known via the Virtual Tour. Since Quakertown Park is City property, an in-ground marker could be placed to name the family at the location of each of their homes as of 1920-21, thus creating recognition.

3. The 100-year lease created by the City with the Women’s Federation to build the Women’s Building at Quakertown Park expires this year. The Women’s Federation got the vote out for the approval of the City Bond election, the funding which purchased the land from the residents of Quaker. The suggestion is to rename this building to recognize the former neighborhood.

Another important source, especially for a critical historical approach to remembering Quakertown, is Chelsea Stallings’ Master’s thesis, “Removing the Danger in a Business Way: Removing the Danger in a Business Way: The History and Memory of Quakertown, Denton, Texas” (2015, UNT), especially Chapter Six, “Denton’s Historical Memory and Quakertown Sites of Memory” (88-112).

In the years following the discovery of the cistern, Stallings states, “the story of the former community slowly came to life [...] the local historical society and college students conducted research, professors and librarians wrote various articles and books, a museum was planned by the county, and the historical markers were erected by the city, county, and state [...] as sites of memory”, that were long forgotten by both white and black citizens of Denton (Stallings, 2015, p. 3). In 2022, the 100th anniversary of the displacement and forced relocation of Quaker residents, how can ongoing research and projects make a difference for the memory of these residents and their descendants? 

The TWU Memorial Garden project 

"The Ghosts of Quakertown"UT Dallas Doctoral Paper (Timothy McDonough, 1998)

Fred Moore: Narration in the First Person (1984) by Mrs. Sadie Moore

Check it out from the UNT library

White Lilacs (1993) by Carolyn Meyer

Check it out from the UNT library

Quakertown (2002) by Lee Martin

Volunteer Opportunities

• The Denton Historical Park Quakertown House: houses the Denton County African-American Museum. Contact: Denton County Office of History and Culture or call 940-349-2852
• Volunteer cleanups of the Quakertown Park/Civic Center Area - Volunteer/Request form

Hydraulic fracturing (also referred to as fracking, gas drilling, or shale gas drilling) is the process of injecting water and a mix of chemicals at a very high pressure into wells to release oil or natural gas deposits. Fracking is a common practice used in Texas, and Texas is the leading producer (24.6%) of natural gas in the United States. In 2002, Denton became a host for hydraulic fracturing. Fracking poses many health and environmental risks for those who live near the drilling wells.

A major concern about fracking is the mix of chemicals they use in the fracking solution. This solution is estimated to contain over 200 chemicals. Further, the EPA does not regulate the injection of the fracking solution under the Safe Water Drinking Act or the Clean Water Act. Since there are many uncertainties and essentially zero regulation of fracking at the federal level, many risks of fracking are not fully understood. However, fracking poses many health, safety, and environmental dangers. Some of the risks associated with fracking for natural gas include contamination of groundwater, pollution from methane, and its impact on climate change, air pollution impacts, exposure to toxic chemicals, blowouts due to gas explosions, waste disposal, extensive volume water use, fracking-induced earthquakes, workplace safety, infrastructure degradation, and property devaluation.

Property rights are separated into surface rights and mineral rights in the United States. While surface rights owners are typically the homeowners who reside on the land, mineral rights can be owned by someone else. When drilling decisions are made, the only people involved are the mineral rights owners, not the surface rights owners. This means that people living on land and dealing with the environmental and health risks of fracking are often not involved in deciding if it will happen on their property. In Denton, approximately 64.1% of mineral rights owners do not reside in the city. This means the majority of the people making decisions about if and where fracking occurs do not deal with the health or safety impacts.

Since decisions about where and if drilling will occur are left between the companies and the mineral rights owners, many surface rights owners and homeowners turn to the local government to help regulate and restrict fracking. Municipal governments can decide on drilling ordinances which are the most common regulation used for gas drilling, and some governments can ban fracking completely at the municipal level.

Gas drilling ordinances often include the regulations and requirements for gas drilling within city limits, with a significant focus on setback distances and reverse setback distances. Setback distances require a minimum distance between gas drilling sites and residential or protected areas (hospitals, schools, parks, etc.). Reverse setback distances are the minimum length required between a proposed development and an existing gas drilling site. As of 2020, Denton has a minimum requirement of 500 ft for both setback and reverse setback distances. However, researchers suggest that a 0.5-mile buffer is the safest and closest distance residences should be to gas wells. This means that Denton's 500-foot distance does not protect anyone within 0.5 miles of wells from the health risks caused by fracking.

Along with many cities across Texas, Denton began drilling for natural gas in the 1980s. For years, gas drilling in Denton expanded until 2009, when natural gas drilling wells opened near McKenna Park and a nearby hospital. Following the placement of these wells, local concerns inspired a regional task force to form called the Drilling in Denton Awareness Group (DAG). The goal of DAG was to deliberate ways to improve drilling ordinances in Denton. This was done by aiming to increase setback distances in Denton to protect residents from the dangers of fracking. Following local pressure, Denton City decided to change the setback distance to 1200 ft. However, existing gas wells were grandfathered into this ordinance. This meant that existing wells that were closer than 1200ft to homes, hospitals, schools, etc., continued to operate, putting many locals at risk of environmental and health concerns.

In response, locals in Denton began to work together and strategize for a way to prevent fracking in the city. By 2014, local opposition to drilling became common, and DAG and Earthworks (a nonprofit organization) worked together to collect 1,897 signatures to place an ordinance on the city ballot to ban fracking within the city. In the next election, in November of 2014, Denton City voted to ban fracking (59:41).

It seemed like the long fight for environmental action against fracking in Denton had ended, but it had only begun.

In November of 2014, the day following Denton's vote to ban fracking, the Texas Oil and Gas Association and the Texas General Land Office sued the city of Denton. In April 2015, Governor Greg Abbot signed House Bill 40. HB40 nullified Denton's fracking ban and ended most local regulations and rules for oil and gas drilling, officially reversing the fracking ban set in Denton. Not only did the passing of HB40 threaten the environmental and health safety of those in Denton, but it also revoked participation from all local governments in oil and energy decisions. In an attempt by the state government to end resistance to fossil fuel development in Texas, HB40 instead inspired more community engagement and resistance in Denton.

Immediately after HB40 passed, Denton appealed it. However, while the outcome of the appeal process for the bill was uncertain, Denton remained strong as it fought back against HB40. Locals staged protests and sit-ins and formed activist groups. Local groups like the Frackettes formed to make videos and media to share the story of fracking in Denton.

Since 2015, HB40 has remained in place, meaning Texas municipal governments are not involved in fracking and oil drilling decisions within their city limits. There are currently 331 active wells within the city limits (DME, 2023). While the story is still being written, fracking in Denton is an inspirational story of a small Texas community coming together to protect their environment and enact meaningful change.

Recommendations for local-level action against gas drilling from National Resource Defense Council:

• “If your state won’t allow a complete fracking ban at the local level, you can take a more nuanced approach. Try pushing smaller-scale ideas at town meetings or with local representatives. For example, you could try to bar fracking in residential areas, within 5,000 feet of a school, or near parks or nature preserves.”
• When creating actual ordinances, it’s important to use specific language so oil and gas companies can’t find loopholes in policy.
• NRDC developed the Community Fracking Defense Project which outlines and provides legal advice at the local level.

• Subscribe to Dallas Drilling for updates and articles about fracking across DFW and events to get involved

Join local organizations working on fighting fracking in DFW. All organizations below meet monthly and offer volunteer work as well as information seminars.

Dallas Sierra Club

North Texas Community Alliance

Downwinders at Risk

In 2020, Denton became the largest city in Texas to use 100% renewable energy. Denton has a municipal-owned electricity provider, Denton Municipal Electric (DME), which is the only provider in the city and is used by all residents. DME became 100% renewable by signing multiple purchase power agreements (PPA) with different renewable energy farms, mostly powered by solar and wind energy. To ensure affordable and reliable energy for residents, Denton opened the Denton Energy Center, a quick-start natural gas plant

Since DME uses 100% renewable energy, there are times when renewable sources are not producing enough to match consumption, which causes a high price increase. To avoid Denton residents paying outrageous and fluctuating prices, DEC quickly adds more energy to the grid to match demand rates and keep rates stable. However, DEC runs on natural gas, so it is difficult to determine if DME is 100% green if the city must rely on a quick-start natural gas plant. Denton residents were not particularly in favor of the construction of DEC and the continued use of fossil fuels in Denton. The government responded by stating it was the only way for Denton to use affordable renewable energy, and the Denton Energy Center was completed in 2018. As of 2023, Denton Municipal Electric still uses 100% renewable electricity.

Want to know more about the fight against fracking in Denton?

Story Map of Energy in Denton

"FIVE YEARS LATER: DENTON'S EPIC BATTLE TO BAN FRACKING AND KEEP LOCAL CONTROL" BY PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE (2019).

Denton Drilling Awareness Group

Texas House Bill 40

Denton’s Gas Ordinances (2023)

Additional sources for information about energy in Denton:

Denton Energy Center Website

Renewable energy and Denton Municipal Electricity

Over the past ten years, temperatures across the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex have reached record-breaking heights. With these dangerously high temperatures, one of the most at-risk groups of people is the homeless population. Public water access has diminished over the years, providing little reprieve from the oppressive heat. There is little coverage in both government space and public perception regarding these issues, leaving this matter in a murky, uncertain area.

As the homeless population rises, the number of people actively in danger also goes up. In Denton County, as of September 30th, 2023, 511 households in our community are actively homeless. On average, these households spend 152 days without housing; with summer and winters both presenting dangerous temperatures, the already difficult task of surviving is made harder.

Regarding local politics, this issue has been brought up to the Denton city council by Mayor Pro Tem Brian Beck, receiving support from multiple members of the city council including McGee, Byrd, and Holland. These members have all spoken in support of setting up a specific work session for this issue.

However, there have been members of the city council who are not as convinced that this is an immediate issue that needs more attention. Those against include Mayor Hudspeth and council member Chris Watts; the former “Offered several reasons why he wouldn’t give direction to do so, including the water fountains already available at Denton’s parks; a lack of conversation about the idea during the council’s current budget discussions; and the $14 million in funds recently allocated to the Denton Community Shelter” and the latter arguing over the cost of installing new water infrastructure (McPhate, para 14, 2023).

As options within the government are not moving at the pace of need, community organizing has filled the gap. Next time you make a trip to a local Denton park, be on the lookout for coolers that say “Free Water”; filled with ice and water bottles. Explicitly free and universally accessible basic needs are hard to come by in many communities.

Denton Basic Services Center and Denton Water Project step in with direct action and community organizing. Volunteers fill five water coolers across the city, all outside the sanctions of the city government. While the houseless are the main benefactors of this type of community organizing, this water is open to all. These coolers are an avenue to turn the issue of water access around and give all people the need for life.

Denton Basic Services Center

The Denton Basic Services founded in 2017,co-founded the Denton Water Project in 2021. Yet today they focus on creating a tiny home community for the homeless, helping them live more sustainable lives and transition back into society as responsible independent individuals.

Denton Water Project | VolunteerContact: beth_varma@hotmail.com

As mentioned before, the Denton Water Project organization is a volunteer-run organization that focuses on placing coolers with bottled water and ice for the homeless around the city of Denton during the record-breaking summers. Founded in 2021 spanning from the Denton Basic Services, this organization noticed the limited number of water stations located throughout the city, and how often half of them are inoperable.

 Denton Grassroots Water Crew

The Denton grassroots water crew founded by Randi Skinner also works with the Denton water project to help fill the coolers around town in the summer.

Homelessness Data

Denton Water Project Statistics

City Council Response