Denton County buys 60-acre Briarwood Retreat Center

Denton County Commissioners Court has purchased the 60-acre Briarwood Lutheran Ministries camp at 670 Copper Canyon Road and will use it for training, outdoor education, youth camps, adult retreats and more.
Briarwood Lutheran Ministries operated the camp beginning in 1995 after purchasing it from the Presbyterians, who opened the camp in 1959. Denton County Commissioners Court authorized its purchase on Feb. 21, 2023.
The purchase includes all facilities at the location, ranging from a conference center to large meeting spaces, office space, cabins and dining areas.
Officials said the purchase potentially enables the county to utilize the area for training, shelter during major disasters, outdoor education, youth camps and adult retreats - to name a few possibilities.
The acreage, located in the Cross Timbers region, will also be preserved as open space.
“It has long been one of my goals to preserve relatively untouched portions of Denton County land as open space for public use as we continue to see significant growth in the coming years. I want us to save this entire forest so future generations can know what the county looked like when I was a kid - filled with post oaks and pecans,” Denton County Judge Andy Eads said.
“When we were alerted to the potential of saving this timberland amid an area of major urban development in southern Denton County, we realized the opportunity to preserve it for future generations,” Eads said.
Officials purchased the property with $6 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, in accordance with eligible expenses as listed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.