Created in 1876 and organized in 1891, Dallam County was named for Republic of Texas Attorney James W. Dallam (1818-1847). Texline, on the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad and the county’s only town when it was organized, served as the first county seat, and a courthouse was built there in 1891. Ten years later, after the Rock Island Railroad built a line through the county, Dalhart was established where the Rock Island and Fort Worth and Denver City rail lines crossed. In 1903 the county commissioners court voted to move the county seat to Dalhart, and in May an election approved bonds for a courthouse. County government soon outgrew the 1903 building, and in 1922 voters approved more bonds for a new courthouse. Designed by the Amarillo architectural firm of Smith & Townes, the present Classical Revival courthouse was completed in 1923. Built of brick with cast stone detailing, it rises from a rusticated ground floor to more finely detailed upper stories and features Ionic columns, curvilinear parapets, and a denticulated cornice. It continues to serve the citizens of Dalhart and Dallam County.