Texas' 26th United States Congressional District is located in the heart of North Texas. The 26th District houses all of Denton County as well as parts of NE Tarrant, Collin and Wise counties.

There is little evidence that the area was at some point a Native American settlement although a few, small burial grounds have been located. Early Spanish and French explorers traveled through the region, but did not establish residence. The first documented settlement was made by William S. Peters of Louisville, Kentucky, and several others. The group received a land grant from the Republic of Texas' Congress in 1841 for a settlement in the area now known as Denton County. The land settled became known as the Peters Colony. The grant included all of the future Denton County, as well as parts of neighboring counties. These settlers dwelled in the southeastern section of Denton County near present day Hebron and some lands in Cross Timbers.

In 1846, the Texas legislature formed Denton County out of what had been a much larger Fannin County. It was named for John Bunyan Denton, an eastern Fannin County Methodist preacher and lawyer. A county seat, named Pinckneyville, was located near the center of the county, at a spot about a mile southeast of the present center of Denton.

Railroads entered the county in the 1880s and had a great economic and demographic effect. Production of such subsistence crops as corn and vegetables declined, acreage in cotton and wheat increased rapidly, and the number of cattle grazing the prairies shrank substantially. The Grand Prairie of Denton County was ideal for wheat culture, and between 1880 and 1900, wheat acreage increased by more than 80,000 acres. From 1890 to 1920 the county ranked either first or second in wheat production among the counties of the state, behind Collin County.

Although Denton County's railroads made the county a significant agricultural producer, they did not make it an important commercial or manufacturing center. Consequently, population expansion in the twentieth century, slow in response to agriculture after 1900, depended to a great extent on other forms of transportation and on higher education. The county's population growth and its economic and cultural life were much influenced by the location in Denton of two large state-supported universities. The University of North Texas, established as Texas Normal College in 1890, had an enrollment of more than 20,000 in 1993. At the same time, Texas Woman's University, which originated in 1903 as Girls' Industrial College, had an enrollment of about 5,000 at the Denton campus.

During World War II the county began to serve noticeably as a bedroom area for Dallas-Fort Worth. Completion of Interstate Highway 35 in the 1962 increased commuting, and in the 1980s Interstate highways 35E and 35W forked in Denton.

The county population grew from 47,432 in 1960 to 143,126 in 1980. Many new rural residents owned small spreads, and mobile homes vied with expensive, sprawling ranchhouses for space. Large horse ranches were scattered through the county; in 1983 horses brought in $17,207,400, a significantly larger income than that from any other agricultural product.

The 26th United States Congressional District of Texas continues to flourish. Rapid growth and business expansions from Dallas and Fort Worth suburbs make the District a thriving economic center. The University of North Texas, Texas Women's University and the North Central Texas Community College anchor a large student base in the center of Denton. Housing the I-35 East and West corridor, the 26th District is a vital artery for Texas transportation activity. The District houses multiple airports including McKinney Municipal and parts of Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport. The 26th also sports the Texas Motor Speedway that hosts a Winston Cup NASCAR race each spring.


For more information on the 26th Congressional District of Texas, please click on Constituent Services and visit "TEXAS LINKS" or by reviewing statistical information at U.S. Census Bureau.