Local history
Waggin' Tail sits in North Texas horse country, about fifteen minutes from one of Denton County's oldest towns. Downtown Pilot Point still looks like a movie set — because, for one famous bank scene, it was.
For tulip fields, Lake Ray Roberts day trips, and Denton / DFW outings, see Attractions. For dinner and errands, see Local. This page is the history and lore behind the town you'll drive through.
Local legend · Hollywood on the square
In November 1966, Warner Bros. rolled into Pilot Point to shoot a bank robbery for Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde (released 1967), starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. The location: the vacant Farmers & Merchants Bank at 100 N Washington on the historic square — a Richardsonian Romanesque landmark built in 1896. The bank had closed during the Great Depression and never reopened as a working bank; its architecture made it perfect for the camera.
Locals watched Hollywood take over Main Street. Several Pilot Point residents appeared as extras — including kids from the mayor's family in a getaway scene — and the town later celebrated the stars when they returned for promotional events around the southwestern premiere (Denton's Campus Theatre screened the film for the region).
Every fall, Pilot Point still leans into that moment with Bonnie & Clyde Days: classic cars, 1930s-style fun, and a live reenactment of the movie's bank robbery on the same square. It's family-friendly small-town spectacle, not a dark crime reenactment.
"Contrary to some myths, notorious outlaws Bonnie & Clyde never robbed this bank. It was, however, used as a set for the 1967 film." — Visit Pilot Point, Farmers & Merchants Bank note
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow never robbed the Farmers & Merchants Bank in Pilot Point. The real Barrow Gang did spend time in Denton County in the late 1920s and early 1930s — using farm-to-market roads between a Lake Dallas hideout and towns like Denton, Dallas, Prosper, and Celina. Documented trouble nearby includes a 1929 safe theft at Denton's Motor Mark Garage and a 1932 plan to hit two banks on the Denton Square that was called off when Texas Rangers were spotted. Pilot Point's claim to fame is the movie set — and the festival that keeps the story alive.
Local legend also says a family connection once offered the gang a quiet place to lay low. Treat that as lore, not proven history.
Visit this story
Walk the square, find the bank façade, duck into shops and cafés, and check festival dates before you plan a fall weekend.
Deeper roots
Same square. Deeper roots than the movie cameras.
est. 1853–54
Wagon masters on the frontier supply trails used a high ridge marked by cottonwoods as their landmark — the “pilot's point.” James Pierson's town plat was surveyed beginning Christmas Day 1853 and recorded in 1854. Pilot Point is the oldest established city in Denton County.
listed 2007
The Pilot Point Commercial Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. Italianate brick storefronts line the square — many built with brick from John Hundley's 1872 kiln.
The oldest brick building in Denton County still stands at 114 W Main (built 1872 for John Merchant).
late 1850s
Between about 1858 and 1861, the Butterfield Overland Mail stage line carried mail and passengers across North Texas. Pilot Point had a station on the square — a reminder that this hilltop town sat on a real corridor west.
1904
The old Midway Saloon (101 S Jefferson, today the Martin General Store area) was the site of Pilot Point's last gunfight in 1904. Locals still point out bullet marks in the façade — a one-minute stop on a square stroll.
today
Pilot Point sits in classic North Texas horse country — sandy loam, training farms, and hundreds of ranches across the broader Denton County / Whitesboro corridor. It's why the drive to the resort feels like ranchland, not suburbia.
lake filled 1987 · park units 1990s
Just west of town, Lake Ray Roberts (once planned as Aubrey Lake) was impounded in 1987 and named for Congressman Ray Roberts. French explorers once called the Cross Timbers forest “Isle du Bois” — island of trees — a name that stuck on the state park unit guests visit for trails and water.
Lake Ray Roberts on AttractionsMake a history afternoon of it
Park once on or near the square, walk the loop, grab coffee or lunch, and be back at the resort before the dogs decide you've been gone too long.
Festival dates and museum hours change — check Visit Pilot Point before you go.
Reserve your site
Your own fenced yard at most sites, string lights at dusk, and a tail wagging at the gate when you pull in. Nightly rates from $60. Monthly rates from $495 + electricity, with a non-refundable $150 deposit for monthly stays.
Waggin' Tail Ranch RV Resort is located at 10801 FM 2931 in Pilot Point, TX 76258, approximately 52 miles north of Dallas and 18 miles from Denton. The resort is 7.6 miles from Lake Ray Roberts State Park and half a mile from Texas Tulips. Individual fenced yards, dog agility course, dog swimming pond, pool, EV charging, and community amenities on site. Nightly rates from $60; monthly rates from $495 + electricity.
