Town History
Shady Shores
The Town of Shady Shores currently has a population of approximately 2,610 and covers 2.9 square miles of property just south of Denton, Texas. Shady Shores' residents take pride in being a small bedroom community (with nary a stop light or convenience store to be found). A look back at the town beginnings will help establish your perspective.
In the mid-1920s, John William Franck, a Dallas contractor, built a fishing camp with about 10 wood-shingle cabins on the northern shores of Lake Dallas. He had this in mind as a weekend retreat for Dallas residents. In the 1930s, many of the fishing camps were torn down and replaced by permanent homes, a number of which are still standing.
The community thrived, and in 1932, a nearby subdivision called Shady Shores began construction. The lake was enlarged in the late '50s, becoming what is now known as Lake Lewisville. In 1960, the city leaders decided to incorporate – mostly to escape being annexed by Denton – and the subdivision's name became the name of a newly formed town. Up until 2000, when tax collection began, money for road repairs and police and fire protection came from fees from building permits, franchise fees, pancake suppers and donations from the residents.
Today Shady Shores is a thriving community that boasts excellent fire, emergency and police protection, provided by The Lake Cities Fire Department and the Corinth Police Department. Our residents enjoy a quiet lifestyle with ready access to the lake while being only a short drive from DFW airport, and nearby shopping and restaurants.
The Community Relations Department is seeking old photographs stories and other memorabilia in order to compile a historical account of Shady Shores. If you have items to contribute please contact Katie Klein.
What we are working on
- Before Cielo was Cielo
- We once had a Polo Club
- What is under the lake
- What did Dick Keating do with his land @(Model.BulletStyle == CivicPlus.Entities.Modules.Layout.Enums.BulletStyle.Decimal ? "ol" : "ul")>
August 2022: Shady Shores on the Big Screen
Capt'n Tomato Seed sat down with Community Relations, Katie Klein, to tell of how Shady Shores made its mark on the Silver Screen. Filmed in 1959 in and around Shady Shores, "Texas Attack of the Giant Gila Monster" and "The Killer Shrews" were written by Ray Kellogg and Jay Simms. If watched carefully, one can recognize the town landscape as well as the original Mclendon Ranch property. Both movies can be viewed free online with a quick internet search.
June 2022: Do you know who Al Dexter is?
Community Relations has uncovered this little video published by the Denton Public Library in March of 2021. https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=787463865219365&_rdr
In case you are interested, we went and found the Youtube video for the song mentioned covered by Bing Crosby. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjgqQcKE3DY
Long time resident, John Thorngren wrote this article about Al Dexter.