Denton County Historical Park

Our Needs

This Giving Day, the Denton County Office of History and Culture is raising funds for the restoration of the Stony General Store at the Denton County Historical Park.

The Stony Store, built in 1912, is one of the last remnants of the small town of Stony in western Denton County. Located between Denton and Decatur, the town of Stony and the Stony General Store served as a popular midway stop for many travelers. The Stony General Store also served local residents as a hub for trading fresh produce. The vegetables and fruit brought in by farmers would be bartered in exchange for dry goods and other products provided by the store.

The Elmore and Sparks Families originally operated the store in Stony. Their daughter, Louise Taylor, inherited the store and was the last to run it with her husband Henry. After the store closed, Louise and Henry’s son, Carman O’Dell Taylor became the sole heir. In 2006, Carman Taylor died, leaving the store to his wife, Elvia Vereranda. Bill Marquis purchased the structure from Elvia Taylor by giving her approximately $800 from his pocket to save it from demolition and had it moved to his property. 

In 2022, Denton County purchased the historic Stony Store and all of its contents from Bill Marquis to be relocated to the Denton County Historical Park. The next phase of the project is to relocate the structure to Denton, and your donations can help us make this happen! 

We hope you will make a contribution this Giving Day so that we can achieve our goal of bringing this historic Denton County building to the Denton County Historical Park! 

The park is currently home to the Bayless-Selby House Museum, Denton County African American Museum, Taylor Log Cabin and the Woods House.