Engineering Department Records
Scope and Content
The Engineering Records of the City of Denton consists of maps of Additions and Subdivisions of the City of Denton, Texas used by the Engineering Design Section as part the Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
The collections has one series: Maps. The first series, Maps, contains six subseries: Additions and Subdivisions (19x25 boxes), Additions and Subdivisions (Blueline and Blueprint 19x25 Boxes), Additions and Subdivisions (Sepia 19x25 Boxes), Additions and Subdivisions (Oversize Drawers), Additions and Subdivisions (Blueline and Blueprint Oversize Drawers), Additions and Subdivisions (Sepia Oversize Drawers).
Those interested in the history of Denton, Texas, especially regarding development, will find these records particularly valuable.
Dates
- Creation: 1878 - 2017
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1941 - 2017
Creator
- Engineering Department (Denton, TX) (Creator, Organization)
Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection are open for research.
Literary Rights Statement
Permission to publish material from this collection in any form, current or future, must be obtained from the Special Collections Department of the Denton Public Library.
Historical Sketch
The City of Denton, Texas was established in 1857 when the site was selected to serve as the Denton County Seat. The original 100-acre townsite lay roughly within the borders of what are currently Highland Street to the south, McKinney Street to the north, half a block past Elm Street to the west and the Union Pacific railroad track to the east. Both Joseph A. Carroll and Otis G. Welch are attributed with drafting the first platting of the city which consisted of thirty-three blocks with streets named for trees commonly found within Denton County.
Prior to the establishment of the townsite there were numerous disputes regarding land titles for the area as administered by the Texas Land and Emigration Company. These disputes were eventually settled by the State of Texas in 1853 and perhaps further settled by the introduction of barbed wire to Denton County in 1875 which aided in the establishment of land boundaries.
As the city grew it eventually became the responsibility of the Planning and Zoning Commission to establish regulations governing the platting and subdividing of property within the city limits and areas under the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) of the city. Today that responsibility considers “harmonious development” conforming to the city’s master plan which provides for open spaces, utilities, recreation and the avoidance of congestion of population.
The Engineering Department utilizes the maps of Additions and Subdivisions to the City of Denton to perform its assigned duties. The 1914 Charter of the City of Denton established the office of City Engineer and today one of the office’s myriad of responsibilities is to interpret conflicts between mapped boundaries and actual field conditions.
Engineering Divisions consist of Design, Survey, Right-of-Way, Inspections, Geographic Information Systems and Administrative Sections. The maps maintained in this collection are routinely used by the Engineering Design section of the City of Denton to facilitate work under the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which is the city’s five-year plan for infrastructure and equipment such as utilities, streets and drainage systems. The Design Section prepares plans and other supporting documents for the CIP.
- Source
- City of Denton Annual Program of Services, 2018-2019.
- Source
- City of Denton Annual Program of Services, 2000-2001.
- Source
- United States. Texas. City of Denton. Charter of the City of Denton, Texas. 1919.
- Source
- United States. Texas. City of Denton. Revised Charter and Codification of Ordinances. Edited by Bruce Davis. 1941.
- Source
- United States. Texas. City of Denton. Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas. Edited by Lee E. Holt. 1959.
- Source
- United States. Texas. City of Denton. Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas. 1991 with supplements to October 2020.
- Source
- Bridges, C.A. History of Denton, Texas: From It's Beginning to 1960. Waco: Texian Press, 1978.
- Source
- Williams, Alec. Denton, Texas: History and Utilities. 1983.
Extent
4 Linear Feet (Eighteen oversize boxes (19x25), eighty-eight oversize folders in seven map drawers.)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Maps of Additions and Subdivisions to the City of Denton including final plats, replats, draft plats and conveyance plats. These maps illustrate the history and growth of the City of Denton from changing neighborhood names to businesses that are no longer in operation. They illustrate how the City looked and was developed dating back to 1878. The Engineering Design section currently uses these maps to facilitate projects as part of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
Series Description
The Engineering Department Records are arranged in one series:
Series I. Maps
4 linear ft. (18 oversize boxes [19x25] and 88 oversize folders), 1878-2017 and Undated.
Arranged in one subseries: 1. Additions and Subdivisions
Subseries 1. Additions and Subdivisions
4 linear ft. (18 oversize boxes [19x25] and 88 oversize folders), 1878-2017 and Undated.
Arranged in six sub-subseries: A. Additions and Subdivisions (19x25 boxes), B. Additions and Subdivisions (Blueline and Blueprint 29x25 boxes), C. Additions and Subdivisions (Sepia 19x25 boxes), D. Additions and Subdivisions (Oversize Drawers), E. Additions and Subdivisions (Blueline and Blueprint Oversize Drawers) and F. Additions and Subdivisions (Sepia Oversize Drawers).
Sub-subseries A. Additions and Subdivisions (19x25 boxes)
3.2 linear ft. (16 oversize boxes [19x15]), 1878-2011 and Undated.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Sub-subseries B. Additions and Subdivisions (Blueline and Blueprint 19x25 boxes)
.1 linear ft. (5 folders [19x15]), 1944-2006.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Sub-subseries C. Additions and Subdivisions (Sepia 19x25 boxes)
.125 linear ft. (11 folders [19x25]), 1956-1980 and Undated.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Sub-subseries D. Additions and Subdivisions (Oversize Drawers)
.4 linear ft. (80 oversize folders), 1905-2017 and Undated.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Sub-subseries E. Additions and Subdivisions (Blueline and Blueprint Oversize Drawers)
.1 linear ft. (1 oversize folder), 1966-2004 and Undated.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Sub-subseries F. Additions and Subdivisions (Sepia Oversize Drawers)
.1 linear ft. (7 oversize folders), 1958-1977 and Undated.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Provenance Statement
The maps that comprise the Additions and Subdivisions subseries of the Engineering Department Records were transferred to the Denton Municipal Archives, Special Collections, Denton Public Library, by Engineering Design on 2019-11-07. All other maps were obtained from the Engineering Department during Trash to Treasure Day 2016.
Copyright
It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission from copyright holders of materials to which this institution does not own copyright.
Images in this collection may be identified by a unique number that provides information about format, record group, collection, series, box, folder and image numbers. If one exists please use this number when ordering reproductions of images for this collection.
Note to the Researcher
Due to the age and condition of the material on which the maps are printed it is difficult to determine, for many of the maps, whether they were produced during the years printed on them, or if they are reproductions. For this reason the maps are listed with the years they depict, if known, but may not date back to that period. Notably, maps of the Original Townsite of Denton are not originals. Many sepia maps have significant tear damage and fading. Some paper maps have water and tear damage.
Materials Removed List
The hanging folders that housed the maps upon accessions were removed and discarded when the maps were rehoused in folders for flat storage.
- Title
- Guide to the Engineering Department Records, 1878-2017
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Matthew Davis, 2 November 2020. Arranged and processed by Matthew Davis.
- Date
- 2020-11-02
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Edition statement
- First Edition by Matthew Davis. 2020-11-02.
Revision Statements
- 2020-11-02: First revision was a migration to ArchivesSpace
Repository Details
Part of the Denton Municipal Archives Repository
Emily Fowler Central Library
502 Oakland St.
Denton TX 76201 USA
940-349-8782
genealogy@cityofdenton.com