The Southlake HistoricalbrSociety's upcoming exhibit, “SharedbrStories: Denton County, Southlake and the Wild West, 1840-1878,” tellsbrthe history of Denton County and Southlake through the eyes of thebrlarger-than-life characters and everyday people who lived it.
The exhibit runs frombrJuly 7 through August 28 in the lobbybrof Town Hall. Stop by from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10bra.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday to view artifacts from Texas Rangers, cowhands and areabrpioneers.
“History doesn't stop atbrcounty lines. In researching the history of Southlake, we often came acrossbrsituations and stories that had roots in Denton County but had spread intobrnow-Southlake and Tarrant County,” said Connie Cooley, president of the SouthlakebrHistorical Society, in a press release. “The people we read about who lived inbror passed through Denton County were representative of so many events andbrthemes in our area's history. That's why we decided to bring them together inbrone exhibit.”
The northern border of Southlakebris the Tarrant-Denton county line, although a small portion of Southlake is inbrDenton County. Southlake was established in 1956. Before that, it wasbrunincorporated Tarrant County.
In 1840, what wouldbrbecome Denton County was nothing more than tangled forests and windsweptbrprairies. Settlers began arriving in 1841, and the county was formed in 1846.brOver the next few decades, the county would endure skirmishes with Indians whobrwere being crowded out, vigilante justice, unfenced prairies, violence againstbrblack citizens, and outlaws. It would be strengthened by hard-working men andbrwomen, churches and a no-nonsense approach to life.
By 1880, with the arrivalbrof railroads, Denton moved into a new era. The historical society isbrpartnering with the Denton County Office of History and Culture, which hasbrshared photographs, maps and memorabilia and has helped produce the finalbrdisplays for the exhibit.
Some of the people webrprofile lived quiet lives. Others lived lives big and bold. “The way to learnbrand enjoy history is through stories,” Cooley said. “We hope our exhibitbrengages everyone who sees it and that it fires up their interest inbrhistory.”
Read more about Southlake'sbrpast at SouthlakeHistory.org. You can also visit the Southlake Log House inbrBicentennial Park (under the water tower) to read colorful signs about ourbrarea’s history.