Hardeman County was created in 1858 and named for early Texas legislators Bailey and Thomas Jones Hardeman, but it was not organized until 1884 when population growth allowed a formal county government. Margaret, now in Foard County, was chosen as the first county seat, but after the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway laid out Quanah along its line, voters moved the county seat there in 1890. A 1906 bond election funded a new building to replace the 1890 county courthouse, and the Commissioners Court chose architect R. H. Stuckey of Chillicothe and Tom Lovell & Sons of Denton to design and construct it. Using a Neoclassical design with a domed cupola, stone lintels over the windows, and ionic columns flanking the entryways, the glazed tan brick building with a raised basement of Indiana limestone was completed in 1908. Since then it has remained the center of county politics and government, while the square has served as a focal point for local festivals, community events, and Quanah's downtown historic district.