50 Years of the Colony

Big milestone for our small city this year!

Quick timeline... (full story here)

    1843: Bridges Settlement becomes first established settlement in Denton county

    1973: A handful of people live near FM 423 in the weeds of unincorporated Denton county

    1974: Fox & Jacobs builds a cross street, a few houses, and names the new neighborhood "the Colony"

Originally part of Frisco, The Colony gained it's independence when the larger city declined to build the utilities infrastructure to serve the new development. As Frisco was also tiny at that time, it just wasn't feasible. So, they gave it up and the new city was born. (though the official incorporation and Municipal Utility District issues would take a while to resolve as the 1976 date on this shows)

And here's what you'd see heading up 423 in those days, right next to THE Stop N Go. (literally the only place to buy food and gas at the time)

Colony Boulevard ran about a mile from 423 to Paige Road, with neighborhood streets and houses all along the swaths of land north and south of it.

Yesterday's Colony Boulevard is today's South Colony Boulevard.
And North Colony Boulevard? Just a twinkle in it's daddy's eye in 1974.

In lieu of much in the way of government, the first home owners association kinda partnered with Fox & Jacobs on alot of decisions and city services. Including the first phone book!

Which included A (as in single) "Yellow Page". 😀

Notice that second to last entry? (above Stop & Go and below Macrame) (Macrame???)

METHODIST CHURCH

Hey, that's us! First United Methodist Church The Colony, established in 1976. That building still stands and is now home to church offices and New Hope preschool.

Jenny & I moved to The Colony in July 2000, when most of Hwy 121 and FM 423 were still two lane roads. But it was about a year after the Wal-Mart Supercenter opened, so we're not OG Colony. To put it another way: we never lacked convenience, but we did get stuck in a field once trying to get home from Pizza Hut. (true story, we were the first house on our street and there just weren't enough other streets!)

We're part of The Colony's second generation. Or maybe if the 1843 originals were settlers, and the 1974 residents were founders, we're part of the developers.

A nice bonus of being only 2nd Gen, those OG founders still walk among us! And they have stories to tell, some of historical significance, some of legend. (the legend purple house)

Pretty cool to be able to touch the first settlement of Bridges Cemetery right in our neighborhood.

Also interesting to look at the original the Colony (including our church) that we see everyday in a new light.

And nice to be a part of the story.