A Denton County town of less than 5,000— home to an annual Bonnie & Clyde Days Festival— is the latest Texas “Boomtown.”

Located 61 miles north of downtown Dallas, Pilot Point is Denton County’s oldest city, being founded in the mid-1800s. It’s filled with quaint colonial-style homes, historic architecture, horse farms, trails, and the beautiful Lake Ray Roberts State Park. The city was home to the highest point of ground between Texarkana and Fort Worth, “pointing the way” for travelers and cattle drivers, according to the city website.

It’s the textbook definition of “small town charm” but that might be about to change.

To start, prolific homebuilders Arlington-based D.R. Horton and M/I Homes are expected to build 600 homes in Pilot Point this year, according to the Dallas Morning News.

That’s already more than five times the number built in 2021, plus the town’s director of development services John Taylor indicated that there are at least 15 more residential developments in the works as well. He said the city plans to preserve the historic homes and architecture near downtown while approving more master-planned developments.

Incoming development proposals increase “almost daily,” says city manager Britt Lusk, adding that even city officials say they don’t know just how much the city is going to grow.

“The large majority of people have said ‘we’re growing, we don’t have a choice,’” Lusk said. “So let’s make sure that if we’re going to grow, let’s do it responsibly.”

Lusk, along with local developer Lisa Brown, cite the city’s history and small town charm as major growth magnets. The city’s largest employer, Western Son Vodka distillery is also a big draw. In 2016, after outgrowing its operating space in Carrollton, the company moved into a former women’s undergarments factory in Pilot Point. According to senior marketing director Erin King, Western Son is hoping commercial development will draw a greater labor pool to Pilot Point.

“People want small-town charm, but they also want conveniences,” King said.

Pilot Point’s current retail offerings are primarily mom-and-pop stores, but Lusk says city officials expect that to change based on talks with commercial developers.

Meanwhile, Pilot Point residents are staying alert. Wendy Turner, who has served as director of the Pilot Point library for eight years, works with the local museum and longtime residents to preserve city history.

“We have a very strong group of people who like being a small town with a lot of history,” Turner said. “So it’s important that the city maintains that while encouraging growth.”

— Maddy Sperling

The Pilot Point ISD school board approved Chase Adams as the school's next head football coach and athletic director at Monday's special board meeting.

Adams was originally hired in late April to be Pilot Point's wide receivers coach under former head coach Kyle Peacock, who resigned in May after one season leading the program. Now, Adams will get his first crack at leading a program after most recently serving as Frisco Independence's offensive coordinator last season.

"My family and I moved out here two years ago, so we've been living in Pilot Point," Adams said. "[We were] really just trying to get out of the city and wanting our kids to be part of a smaller program, more tradition, things like that. My oldest girls are going to the schools.

"It's kind of been a dream job since we moved out here, and here we go."

The longtime assistant got his coaching career started in 2012 as the offensive line coach at Luling High for two years, then moved to the same position in New Braunfels for a year. He served as an offensive line coach for two years in Frisco ISD starting in 2015, then took over the offensive coordinator position at Farmersville for the 2017-18 school year.

Adams then spent two years as offensive coordinator at Brownwood High starting in 2018 before moving to Frisco Independence in 2020.

Pilot Point ISD Superintendent Todd Southard said the district received more than 50 applications for the role and interviewed 14 applicants over the last week and a half before ultimately deciding on Adams.

"We had some really good interviews, but we like what Chase brings to the table," Southard said. "We like that he's young, he's energetic, he lives here in the community, his kids go to school here, and he's had a lot of experience as a coordinator. We're excited for Chase and we're excited for our kids."

Adams will be Pilot Point's third head football coach in the last three seasons. Peacock took over for the 2022 season, succeeding Danny David, who posted a 39-22 record in five years leading the program before retiring from coaching after the 2021 season.

The Bearcats posted a 3-8 record last season, including a 2-4 mark in district play. They earned District 4-3A Division I's fourth playoff spot via tiebreaker before falling 41-0 to Tuscola Jim Ned in the first round of the postseason.

That showing narrowly extended Pilot Point's streak of playoff berths to six straight seasons. The Bearcats' deepest recent postseason run came in advancing to the fourth round in 2020, when they posted a 10-4 record. They also advanced to the fourth round in 2019 and went 12-2 overall.

Attracting more students into the program is a top priority moving forward to help get the program back to those heights.

"Chase knows he's coming into the situation, and he accepts that," Southard said. "We only had 23 kids playing eighth-grade football this year, and our numbers from there on up have been pretty low. We have to make some changes in how we go out and talk to our kids, get kids involved and get kids interested.

"We're trying to get kids more and more involved."

As Adams takes over the program, his early priority while he gets to know the players and builds out his coaching staff is on building the program back up within the community.

"Just being positive and trying to get the community excited again about Pilot Point athletics and Pilot Point football," Adams said. "Just trying to get it back to where it's supposed to be and needs to be. Ultimately, just doing what's best for the kids in the community.

Longtime coach Danny David enjoyed Pilot Point’s 2021 season and playoff appearance, but it felt much different than his previous 31 years on the sideline.

Two of his greatest supporters — parents Louis and Joella — passed away within months of each other earlier in the year. Their absence from the Bearcats’ games last year had David beginning to mull the next chapter of his life.

David, who went 39-22 in his five years as Pilot Point’s head coach, recently decided to hang up his whistle.

The 1983 Pilot Point graduate has handed the reins to his offensive coordinator, Kyle Peacock, and will retire following the 2022-23 school year.

David, 57, will remain the school’s athletic director and help assist Peacock in his transitional 2022 season.

“It’s time for someone else to step in,” David said. “I’ve been very fortunate to coach here. This is my hometown and I want this thing to be like it was when Coach [G.A.] Moore was here.”

Moore, a revered Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor inductee, coached David in the early 1980s when David was a star quarterback for the Bearcats, winning a pair of state titles.

David began his collegiate career at North Texas before transferring to Tarleton State, where he was a two-time All-TIAA selection and the 1987 TIAA Offensive Player of the Year.

David went on to become an assistant coach under Moore and won two state titles at Celina.

He also coached for 12 years at Collinsville before taking the Pilot Point job in 2017, where he swiftly found success with the Class 3A Division I program. The Bearcats won 12 games in 2019.

In his 32 years of coaching, David-coached teams reached the playoffs 27 times.

“I was able to experience seven state championships as a player and coach,” he said. “I was blessed.”

Now, he said, he’ll have more time to tend to his cattle and watch the program proceed under Peacock, a 2005 Pilot Point graduate.

“He is ready to be a head coach and he has a good nucleus of young talent,” David said. “He’s a Pilot Point guy, so this is very important to him.”

When you come to the country, you expect to see certain things like tractors and horses.

It could be why the unusual wedding chapel that just popped on Massey Rd in Pilot Point sticks out.

“It's a whimsical wonderland,” said chapel co-owner Elizabeth Jones.

Whimsical is one way to describe it.

Besides the front door, nothing about the chapel is normal.

The roof, walls, windows, columns are all tilted and twisted.

“The word ‘weird’ isn't something to be scared of,” Jones said.

The latest news from around North Texas.

The chapel – which doesn’t yet have a name – is located on a three-acre piece of property where lovebirds Jones and her husband Chris Duncan live.

“I could not do without him what I always wanted to do,” Jones said.

Together, they've created their dreams.

First, they built Lizzy Gator, a venue they've rented out for years.

Now, they’ve opened the stop-and-stare sanctuary which combining faith and funk.

“We wanted something different, you know, it wouldn't be worth talking about if it was straight and normal,” Duncan said.

The chapel is a labor of love.

The couple says they spent much of the pandemic their workshop, creating the chapel from the ground up.

“There was a point when I was like maybe I’m in over my head, what did I do here?” Duncan said.

Inspired by their favorite fairy tales, it is an example of art imitating life.

“During the time, it just felt right. The world was twisted. Everybody felt unsure what was going on and it just made sense,” Jones said.

The couple exchanged vows on the steps of the chapel shortly after the exterior was finished in November.

Since photos of the chapel were posted on various blogs and websites, questions and calls about it have picked up, Jones said.

“Sometimes we have a traffic jam in the middle of the street,” Jones said.

While the exterior is complete, they say lumber costs slowed completion of the inside of the chapel but they hope to have it finished sometime this fall.

In the meantime, the chapel is available for outdoor weddings only.

Spring is almost here, but tulips aren’t waiting

Texans know to keep their eyes peeled for bluebonnets, but Texas’ tulips are just as gorgeous this time of year. Spring will be here before you know it North Texas will begin popping with color.

From March to April, tulips will bloom around Texas. But why just enjoy them from afar? Here are a few places around North Texas where you can pick your own bouquet and take photos for any occasion.

Texas Tulips

Nothing says spring like fresh-picked tulips and Texas Tulips offers around 100 varieties of tulips to choose from. Instagram-worthy photo opportunities and a hay maze for kids make the spot perfect for a day trip. Professional photographers are also on location if you don’t have an eye for photography.

10656 FM 2931, Pilot Point, Texas 76258

Dallas Arboretum

Half a million tulips and a variety of other flowers will soon bloom at Dallas Blooms. From Feb. 25 through April 16, families can enjoy the beauty of the arboretum, featuring bronze sculptures by artist Gary Lee Price.

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8525 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas 75218

Forth Worth Botanic Garden

The botanic garden buys its bulbs early in the fall and chills them in its refrigerators to ensure they are perfect for planting. Around 150,000 bulbs, including tulips, daffodils and hyacinths were planted in December in preparation for Spring.

3220 Botanic Garden Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas 76107

Waxahachie Civic Center

Tulipalooza is an annual tulip festival that brings a burst of color to North Texas while benefiting a dozen local charities. From March 17-26, Tulipalooza is back for the fourth year. Hundreds of thousands of tulip bulbs are imported from Holland and planted at the Waxahachie Civic Center in December. Rain or shine, families can enjoy the festival and pick some flowers.

2000 Civic Center Ln, Waxahachie, TX 75165