Geography of Denton County Page: 97

                                
THREE SUBDIVISIONS
September, 1890, school bonds to the amount of $15,-
000 were sold in St. Louis for the purpose of erecting
the building. Two tracts of land were proposed for
the site of the college. One site was on the hill north
of the Odd Fellows cemetery; the other site was in the
country west of town. A real contest took place over
the choice between the two locations, but the site in the
country won and thus the shape of the town was
changed. The school opened in the fall of 1890, but
since the building was not ready for occupancy, the
Wilson Hardware Store on the northwest corner of the
square housed the students. The first enrollment of
the college reached about two hundred, including thirty-
six Indians from the Indian Territory whose expenses
were paid by the government. A chief of the tribe
lived in Denton and had charge of the Indians.
On February 21, 1891, the cornerstone of the new
building was laid on the site near the president's resi-
dence today. Professor Chilton served as President
from September, 1890, until 1893, and during this
time the college was known as The Chilton School. In
1893 the legislature made the diploma from this col-
lege a State Teacher's Certificate. The name of the
school changed from Texas Normal College to North
Texas Normal College. The same year, 1893, a
Summer Normal was conducted in each of the thirty-
one Senatorial Districts and a summer school was held
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