Southroad Pictures, the production company behind the upcoming Quakertown docuseries, will be filming at the Denton County Historical Park the week of July 8.
The Denton Black Film Festival and North Texas filmmakers King Hollis and Lindell Singleton of Southroad Pictures seek to capture forgotten Quakertown stories in a four-part documentary series tentatively titled Quakertown, USA.
The thriving Black community’s residents and businesses were forced from their land in the early 1920s as the city of Denton sought to create Civic Center Park, now known as Quakertown Park.
“We plan on filming in and around the homes preserved from Quakertown to tell the fullness and totality of the community and to supplement our interviews when discussing the community,” producer Jalon Nichols told Denton County commissioners.
On Tuesday morning, commissioners approved the production company’s request to waive fees to film at the location.
Denton County reserves the right to waive any fees in circumstances the Commissioners Court deems to serve a county public purpose.
According to the agenda memo, the production company plans to use three trucks, about 20 vehicles and one motor home to facilitate building the set and filming.
In May last year, the Denton City Council approved $250,000 in funding for the docuseries, with additional support from the Denton Black Film Festival.
County Office of History and Culture Director Peggy Riddle has met with the film festival’s executive director, Harry Eaddy, and has closely collaborated with Texas Woman’s University, Quakertown Park and several other entities in Denton County on this project to provide resources to tell the story of Quakertown.
The Office of History and Culture staff will also help coordinate and be on location while filming occurs.
The production company has already interviewed historians, economists and descendants of the Quakertown community.
Later in production, the company also plans to film at TWU, Quakertown Park and several other locations in Denton County.
