The Colony is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. The population was 26,531 at the 2000 census.
The Colony is home to the 5 Star Athletic Complex, which was completed in 2003. The Colony was named the Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary Sports Town in that same year. The city is home to Pizza Inn’s corporate headquarters, as well as an Edward Don distribution center and a variety of small and medium-sized businesses.
Located on the southeast side of the city, across State Highway 121 from most of the city, is Austin Ranch, a mixed-use development consisting of retail businesses, apartments and condominiums.
The Colony is located inside the original Peters Colony lands, on the site of the Hedgcoxe War.
The Colony did not exist before 1969, when home developers Fox and Jacobs (owned by Centex) purchased most of the land located around State Highway 121 and Farm-to-Market Road 423. They planned the development of a new “dream city” modeled after the city of Dallas, consisting primarily of single family homes grouped as a “colony”. The homes were served by a municipal utility district formed to bring water, electricity (via Texas Power and Light), cable television (via Lakeside CATV) and telephone service (via Southwestern Bell).
In 1976, one of the original homeowners associations petitioned the city of Frisco, Texas to remove the area from its extra-territorial jurisdiction. A vote was held in January 1977, and the City of The Colony was officially incorporated at that time (the name Colony was already in use, and thus the current name with the definitive article was chosen). The town has grown significantly in the past ten years. The Colony High School Lady Cougars Soccer Team is the 2007 Class 4A State Champion.
