Southwestern Collection

Bird's Eye View ofDenton, Denton County, Tex. 1883, by Augustus Koch (1840-?). Tinted lithograph, 17.7 ? 23.7 inches. Lithographer unknown. Courtesy Denton Public Library; the digital scan courtesy of the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth. Denton was established in 1857 as the county seat ofDenton County. In the decade after the arrival of the railroads in 1881, the population of the town more than doubled, to 2,558, and with connections to Sherman, Dallas, and Fort Worth, subsistence farming gave way to cotton and wheat crops. Augustus Koch came to North Texas in 1883. By that time many of the original wooden buildings in Denton's courthouse square had burned down, and the new buildings were made of brick or stone. This view is from the northeast. The new courthouse (built in 1875) is in the center; the insets at the bottom are the First National Bank and the Exchange National Bank; the top inset is the D. A. Robinson & Co. Real Estate Office. Bird's-eye views of American cities became popular in the years following the Civil War, prompted by a wish to understand and encourage the urban growth that was taking place in the nation. For cities and businesses , the views were a way to promote themselves, and thousands of images of more than 2,000 American cities were drawn by a small group of traveling artists, including Augustus Koch. Koch was born in Birnbaum, Germany, and served as a clerk and draughtsman in the Engineers Office of the Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War. He began his bird's-eye-view career with a few pictures of Iowa cities in 1 868 and 1869. He arrived in Texas in 1873 ??^ produced some twenty-four views of Texas cities. For more on bird's-eye views, visit the Amon Carter Museum's web site at http://www.birdseyeviews.org/index.php. The Museum's Texas Bird's-Eye Views documents fifty-nine Texas views, documenting forty-four different cities. The site was written by former TSHA director Ron Tyler, now director of the Carter, and represents his many years of research into the subject. This map of Denton is included on the site, and with it and the other maps, you can zoom in and see the detail up close and also find brief descriptions of the featured buildings. Tyler is also working on a book about Texas bird's-eye views, to be published at some future date by the TSHA. Southwestern CoiUcäon 194Southwestern Historical QuarterlyOctober Events are coming togetiier as expected for our transition from Austin to Denton. This summer two of the more crucial elements have taken their places in the pattern.J. Kent Calder took on his position as Executive Director on July ? , and by the time this issue reaches you, Randolph B. "Mike" Campbell will be officially in position as ChiefHistorian. As you know, our by-laws were changed at the last annual meeting, providing for our dual leadership—administrative and scholarly—and also making the executive director the chief operating executive of the organization , replacing the president's role in that position. Throughout our history the director has been de facto CEO, and these past few years have shown us the wisdom ofthat. Even with the energy and commitment shown by our last several presidents during this interim time, diey have not been in a position to provide the year-to-year continuity in leadership that a permanent director/CEO can bring to an organization. Kent returns to the TSHA, where he was director of publications from 2004-2006, after two years as director of the Scholarly Publishing Program at Arizona State University. "I can't decide whether 'whirlwind' or 'tornado' best describes the level ofactivity I've experienced since taking over the reins at TSHA. Leaving Phoenix, working in Austin, and moving to Denton are challenges, but exciting ones, and ones that have been made easier by the support I've received from the staff and the board. The staff is motivated and looking toward the future, and the board has donated generously to a Transition Campaign that will help to put us on a firm footing as...