Quakertown

Quakertown explores the history of Quakertown Park in Denton. The park was once the Black neighborhood of Quakertown, which by the late 1910s was a thriving middle-class community. However, in 1922, the College of Industrial Arts (now Texas Woman’s University) and local civic groups displaced residents, as the town was perceived as a danger to students, faculty, and staff of the institution. The land was then repurposed into a civic park, which, in the words of then-college president Francis Bralley, sought to “rid the college of the menace of the negro quarters.”

Today, Quakertown Park is an iconic Denton landmark, home to the Civic Center, Senior Center, Women’s Club, Main Post Office, Emily Fowler Library and City Hall. On weekends, it’s dotted with families, runners, and cyclists, yet few seem to engage with the signs documenting its history. Noticing this disconnect, I wanted to spend time with the park both physically and through research, photographing it in a way that honors both its present-day function and its history.

At the center of the photo installation are 20 small archival images from the Denton County Historical Commission. Surrounding this organic assemblage in a structured rectangular perimeter are 16 of my own photos, capturing the park’s signs and notable sites. The installation reflects on the linear storytelling of Quakertown’s history in the park and the more complex, nonlinear reality.