Denton is a town in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,494.
Denton is located in southern Davidson County southeast of Lexington, the county seat.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.31%, is water.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,494 people, 671 households, and 403 families residing in the town.
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,636 people. The population density was . There were 651 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.07% White, 0.62% African American, 0.34% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.00% of the population.
There were 595 households, out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $30,950, and the median income for a family was $40,375. Males had a median income of $28,571 versus $21,354 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,439. About 11.2% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
The land that is now Denton was originally inhabited by Native American peoples long before European settlement. During the colonial era, the region formed part of the vast land holdings of Lord Granville, a descendant of Sir George Carteret, one of the original Lords Proprietors of Carolina. Lord Granville eventually sold his interests in North Carolina to King George II. This royal holding stretched from the Virginia border southward to an area a few miles beyond the present site of Denton. Following the American Revolutionary War, the Crown lost control of these lands, and ownership passed to the State of North Carolina.
In 1819, Richardson Finch purchased 517 acres that included the hill at the modern intersection of East Salisbury Street and North Carolina Highway 109. At the time the area became known as FinchâÂÂs Hill, later also called Red Hill, a name still used locally today when referring to the intersection. As the community slowly developed around FinchâÂÂs property, the settlement became known as FinchâÂÂs Cross Roads.
The community began to develop more formally in 1877 when local schoolteacher Branson Ivey Harrison petitioned the federal government to establish a nearby post office for residents of FinchâÂÂs Cross Roads. After his initial name suggestions were rejected, fellow resident Samuel Moses Peacock suggested the name Denton, inspired by the name of a town in Texas. The name was accepted, and on July 12, 1878, the Denton Post Office officially opened with Peacock serving as the first postmaster. At the time, only four families lived within what are now the townâÂÂs limits.
In 1906, Harrison sold a right-of-way across his land for the extension of the Thomasville and Glen Anna Railroad to Denton. Regular rail service began in 1912 after the line was renamed the Carolina and Yadkin Railroad and extended to High Rock. The railroad stimulated rapid economic growth, particularly through the timber industry. Denton became a major center for producing railroad cross ties, with nearly 200,000 ties shipped annually during the peak years of 1917âÂÂ1918. This earned Denton the nickname âÂÂThe Cross Tie Capital of the Country.âÂÂ
The growth brought by the railroad led to DentonâÂÂs formal incorporation. On March 11, 1907, the North Carolina General Assembly incorporated the Town of Denton. J. E. Varner served as the townâÂÂs first mayor,
The Adderton - Badgett House, Chapel Hill Church Tabernacle, Mor-Val Hosiery Mill, and Mount Ebal Methodist Protestant Church are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Denton has two area elementary schools; Denton Elementary and Silver Valley Elementary. Silver Valley is the smallest elementary school in the Davidson County Schools system, having just under 275 students. Denton Elementary is almost twice the size of Silver Valley, with about 460 children. Both schools feed into South Davidson Middle and High School, which lies just a mile north of the Denton town limits. South Davidson Middle has just under 395 students. The middle school feeds into the adjoined high school, South Davidson High School. South Davidson is the smallest high school in Davidson County with 413 students at the 2011-2012 school year. The closest college to Denton is Davidson County Community College, a two-year college in northern Davidson County. The closest four-year college is Pfeiffer University, located 19 miles south, near Richfield.