People dressed in red, white and blue filled the south lawn of the Courthouse on the Square on Wednesday evening to protest the federal bailout and stimulus plans, one of many “tea parties” held around the country on the same day federal taxes were due.

Police estimated the crowd to number between 900 and 1,000. People came from as near as across the street to as far away as Lewisville and Gainesville, making Denton’s among the larger tea parties in the state.

DRC/Gary Payne

Sherry McKee of Gainesville holds a sign showing her dissatisfaction with government spending and the economy during a “tea party” tax protest on Wednesday at the Courthouse on the Square in Denton.

View larger More photos Photo store

San Antonio police estimated that 4,000 to 5,000 people packed a plaza for a tea party outside the Alamo, one of the state’s iconic symbols of independence.

While other tea parties nationwide hooked people with all-star guests — thousands gathered in Atlanta where conservative commentator Sean Hannity set up to broadcast his television show — Denton’s lineup of speakers was more homegrown.

County Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell delivered a gospel-inspired invocation, and local musicians played both “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “The Eyes of Texas.” Two young students, Jonathan Mango and Keren Starnes, delivered a carefully prepared history lesson on the Boston Tea Party, in which colonial Americans protested British taxes in 1773.

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, addressed the crowd briefly and then told them their presence energized him.

“I’m going to get on the plane Monday night and, by golly, take Denton County back to Washington,” Burgess said.

People held up signs that read “I’m saving. Why are you spending?” and “Read before you spend,” chanting “Enough is enough” and “If 10 percent is good enough for Jesus, it oughta be enough for Uncle Sam.”

The Denton County Republican Party passed out tea bags. But to simulate the original tea party and get the message to leaders in Washington, organizers orchestrated a digital dump of information. Early in the two-hour event, party chairwoman Dianne Edmondson gave the crowd a phone number and asked them to text “Fed up,” which she pledged would be delivered to the White House.

Denton resident Brock Ostrander said he tried to send the text message, but since his phone wasn’t with a national carrier, it didn’t work for him.

DRC/Gary Payne

Deanna Gieryic of Lewisville and other area residents protest taxes and federal spending on Wednesday at the Courthouse on the Square in Denton. Similar protests were held across the country, with Denton’s drawing about 1,000 people, according to police estimates.

View larger More photos Photo store

Edmondson also asked the crowd to sign a petition against the bailouts and stimulus and to fill out a blue suggestion form.

“Tell us what the Republican Party can do to put the country back on the right track,” she said, encouraging people to not go home and do nothing, but to stay involved and help with 2010 campaign efforts.

In the first hour of the two-hour event, party worker Kathy Carrington collected more than 50 signatures of people ready to volunteer.

Denton resident David Ford filled out a suggestion card, saying that term limits, both individual and aggregate, were important to him.

“I think two terms is enough in any office,” Ford said, “and maybe 20 years total.”

Although Blane Newton of Hickory Creek had already paid her taxes, she held a freshly made sign stating that she shouldn’t have to pay them until President Obama shows his birth certificate.

Newton, a registered nurse, said middle-class Americans like herself are paying too much in taxes. The government is on a spending spree that will only trickle down to her children, she said.

“I’m out here for my children,” Newton said. “This will not affect my generation, but it will affect them.”

Newton’s daughter, Savannah Newton, 12, said she doesn’t feel like paying for the government’s current spending when she gets older.

“Why is he [Obama] making us pay?” she said.

For Phillip Windsor, 54, the tax issue is part of a larger problem that could wreck the economy. The utility construction worker, who said he paid more than $1,300 in taxes this year, said taxes are too high and government control is out of hand.

“I think the economy will destroy the country — or weaken it,” Windsor said.

But the number of protesters who showed up will help stave off the erosion of freedoms, he said.

“As long as people fight back on these bad things, it [problematic government control] won’t happen,” he said.

Brent House of Pilot Point said the economy doesn’t make sense anymore, with too much capital being sapped out of the country. A post office worker, House said that agency is facing layoffs, with 140,000 of the nation’s 800,000 postal workers expected to be let go.

“But I heard that the IRS is hiring,” House said.

Staff writer Candace Carlisle contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .