Denton County and the City of Denton are named for pioneer preacher, lawyer, and Indian fighter John B. Denton, but little has been known about him. He was an orphan in frontier Arkansas who became a circuit-riding Methodist preacher and an important member of a movement of early settlers bringing civilization to North Texas. After becoming a ranger on the frontier, he ultimately was killed in the Tarrant Expedition, a Texas Ranger raid on a series of villages inhabited by various Caddoan and other tribes near Village Creek on May 24, 1841. Denton’s true story has been lost or obscured by the persistent mythologizing by publicists for Texas, especially by pulp western writer Alfred W. Arrington. Cochran separates the truth from the myth in this meticulous biography, which also contains a detailed discussion of the controversy surrounding the burial of John B. Denton and offers some alternative scenarios for what happened to his body after his death on the frontier.

Joshua C. Chilton first described UNT as “independent, original and progressive” in his inaugural speech opening the university in 1890. In the 125 years since then the university has more than lived up to his expectations. The University Archive holds countless photographs, artifacts and publications which tell the remarkable story of UNT from its beginnings in a downtown hardware store to its place today as the one of the nation’s largest public universities. This book features stories about the people and events that helped to define the character and spirit of UNT. Each story is illustrated with photographs and artifacts specially chosen from the Special Collections department and the Music Library, both part of the UNT Libraries, whose staff are proud to share these wonderful memories with you.​