Editing Denton, Texas (section)

===Denton Square===
[[File:Denton, Texas town square.jpg|thumb|right|Denton Historic Town Square]]
The Denton Square, bordered by Oak, Hickory, Locust, and Elm Streets, is a cultural and political hub of the city. At its center is the [[Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square]], which includes local government offices and a museum showcasing area history and culture.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20010105.htm |title=National Register of Historical Places – TEXAS (TX), Denton County |publisher=National Register of Historical Places |access-date=2009-11-02 |date=2001-01-05}}</ref>

Listed on the [[U.S. National Register of Historic Places]], the former county courthouse was restored for the Texas [[Sesquicentennial]] in 1986.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref> The positive response to the renovation sparked a downtown revitalization program that generated new jobs and reinvestment capital.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dentonedp.com/downtown_development/investing_downtown.asp |title=Denton Economic Development |publisher=Denton Economic Development Partnership |access-date=2009-10-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223083010/http://dentonedp.com/downtown_development/investing_downtown.asp |archive-date=2009-02-23 }}</ref> The downtown square is populated by local shops and restaurants, some of which have been in business since the 1940s. Each year, the downtown square is adorned with lights and spotlighted during the Denton Holiday Lighting Festival.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[Denton Record-Chronicle]] |last=Breeding |first=Lucinda |date=2011-11-22 |title=No Combo |url=http://www.dentonrc.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20111127-no-combo1.ece |access-date=2012-10-26 |archive-date=July 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715223923/http://www.dentonrc.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20111127-no-combo1.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1918, the [[Daughters of the Confederacy]] erected the [[Denton Confederate Soldier Monument]], a {{convert|12|ft|adj=mid|m|tall}} granite, arched monument topped with a statue of a Confederate soldier, in the Denton Square on the courthouse lawn.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth34974/ |title=Confederate Soldiers' Monument |date=February 20, 2008 |work=Portal to Texas History |publisher=University of North Texas |access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref> The monument was controversial, and Denton County Commissioners unanimously approved its removal on June 9, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Ryan Higgs |title=Commissioners approve removal and relocation of Confederate soldier memorial |url=https://dentonrc.com/news/denton_county/commissioners-approve-removal-and-relocation-of-confederate-soldier-memorial/article_952af884-90dc-5820-af1d-4295c26f885d.html |work=Denton Record-Chronicle |date=June 9, 2020}}</ref>