Dent County's first courthouse was an earlier log building constructed about 1851 or 1852 on the Wingfield farm northeast of Salem. In 1852-1853, a courthouse measuring about 20'x40' was built south of the present courthouse by J.T. Garvin for $800, but it was burned during the Civil War. The next courthouse, built in 1864, also fell victim to fire in May 1866. The Victorian courthouse listed in the National Registry of Historic Places was built in 1870 for $15,500.