Waketon Road, today, is an easy way to navigate around the congestion of shopping centers around Justin Road and Long Prairie Road. But 144 years ago, it was a community and general store that shared the same name.

Waketon was settled in 1881 and named after the Wakefield family, according to Sweet Flower Mound, a history of the town published in 1995. Jane Wakefield was one of four women who planned the building of Chinn’s Chapel two decades before. The Waketon General Store was built the same year. A giant post oak tree stood outside.

In 1888, the population was 60 and the area had a steam grist mill, cotton gin, post office, and wagon maker, according to the Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory R. L. Polk & Co. 1888-1890.

There were less than two miles between the residents of Chinn’s Chapel and Waketon, and they would often meet in the middle at a spot known as the “Crossroads” — the intersection of FM 407 and Chinn Chapel Road.

As the community of Waketon grew, the residents of Chinn’s Chapel wanted an easier way to visit the store. In 1885, the Denton County Commissioners approved a road connecting Denton and Waketon, according to a Texas Historical Commission marker application. An old wagon trail in Chinn’s Chapel was part of the route and the road was named Chinn Chapel Road. It was not paved until 1961.

The store was used as a polling place, as well as a spot for locals to play games like washers, horseshoes, and 42. A boxing ring outside was used on Wednesday nights. It was closed during the depression and torn down in 1946.

The Civil War-era Wakefield house was moved to Copper Canyon in 2007, according to a Cross Timbers Gazette story.

Now, all that remains of the community is a street sign and a plaque in Robertson Creek Shopping Center.