Montague County was created in December 1857 and organized in August 1858. A log cabin and a frame store served as temporary courthouses. Fires destroyed a two-story frame building in 1873 and a two-story stone courthouse in 1884. In that same year, construction began on a second stone courthouse, which lasted until a 1912 storm severely damaged it. County Commissioners selected Waco architect George Burnett to design the present classical revival style Temple of Justice, and A. H. Rodgers of Henrietta was the contractor. The three-story brick and stone courthouse with raised basement has staircases at all four entrances, porticos, pilasters and dentils. Completed in May 1913, it has been the center of government and activity in the county for more than a century.