Corinth's history dates back to the 1800's when Dr. T.A. Ball, a physician from the North who was a southern sympathizer during the Civil War, brought his family to this area. He and a caravan of other settlers from Missouri settled in the Corinth-Lake Dallas area soon after the Civil War. It wasn't long thereafter that Dr. Ball became well known by everyone. During the week, he traveled the county on horseback as a doctor; but on Sunday, Dr. Ball preached wherever he could find a congregation. At one time, Dr. Ball owned most of the land where Corinth now lies. He donated some of his land to the Primitive Baptist Church in 1877 and named it Shiloh in conjunction with the Shiloh Cemetery located nearby. Three years later in 1880, the Wichita and Dallas Railway secured right-of-way through the settlement and named the community Corinth. Some of the turn-of-the-century rail station influence was incorporated into the new city hall's architectural design in order to commemorate Corinth's early beginnings.

In 1960, the community realized the importance of Corinth's location - strategically located on a major highway between Dallas and Denton. During the summer of 1960, many concerned citizens, led by Erskine K. Bludworth, held meetings in local homes to formulate a plan to incorporate a two-mile square into the City of Corinth. On September 19, 1960, a petition was presented to the Denton County Judge to incorporate the community into the City of Corinth by special election. This election also voted in a temporary mayor and two councilmen. During the remainder of this decade, the City of Corinth grew to a population of 400 residents.

In the 1970's, the City of Corinth's population grew from 400 to 461. Due to this growth, the City realized the need to provide utilities to its residents and to construct a City Hall. In 1976, a local sales tax was passed to fund these public improvements. As economic growth continued along the Interstate Highway 35 corridor between Dallas and Denton, so did Corinth's residential growth. By 1980, the population of the City had almost tripled, going from 461 to 1,264. It was during the 1980's that the City organized its own service departments, providing police, water and wastewater services to the community. Although Corinth continued to be the home of a few independent farmers, most of its residents commuted to employment centers outside of the city, especially to Lewisville, Denton and Dallas.

The City of Corinth experienced a population explosion from 3,944 to 11,394 in the 1990's and ended the decade with a cumulative growth rate of over 188%. With more and more people moving into the area, subdivisions and businesses popped up everywhere in the City. In fact, approximately 95% of the City's subdivisions were built during this time period. Corinth had become known as a great place to live and raise a family - being just close enough to the Metroplex to enjoy the urban amenities, yet far enough away to retain its unhurried, family-friendly atmosphere.

On May 1, 1999, the City of Corinth adopted the Home Rule Charter. The "home rule" concept assumes that governmental problems should be solved at the lowest possible level, closest to the people. With the adoption of the charter, Corinth established the right of its citizens to manage their own affairs with minimum interference from the state.

The new millennium continued the trend of double-digit annual growth until the recent downturn in the U.S. economy since 9-11. Recent analysis indicated that Corinth is approaching a population of 17,000, thus making it one of the fastest growing small cities in Texas. At the present time, families reside in 45 subdivisions throughout the community with home values ranging from $90,000 to more than $500,000.

Today, as the City moves through the 2000's, a bright future is expected where new families and businesses join existing residents and companies to build on Corinth's past foundation of pleasant residential neighborhoods, excellent educational institutions, numerous recreational activities and a growing number of commercial centers to truly establish itself as a "Gateway to Success."

For more information please contact:
Department of Economic Development
info@cityofcorinth.com