Trinity County was formally organized by an act of the Texas legislature on February 11, 1850. Soon after, county residents chose between two sites for the establishment of a county seat, which was named Sumpter. Government offices were located in the residence of Solomon Adams until a courthouse was built. Sumpter, now a ghost town, served as the Trinity County seat until 1872, when the courthouse was destroyed by fire. The town of Trinity was named the new county seat by legislative act, but in 1874 local voters chose to relocate the seat of government to Pennington. A courthouse fire there in 1876, coupled with the theft of district court records in 1880, led county residents to consider a new site for the government offices. As the result of an election on October 7, 1882, the sawmill and railroad town of Groveton became the fourth seat of Trinity County, and official records were moved there 13 days later. The courthouse square was donated by the Trinity & Sabine Timber Co. The history of the Trinity County seats reflects the early struggles and hopes of the area's pioneer settlers.