Newton became the hub of Dale County activities from 1843 until 1870 after the west half of Dale County was made Coffee County in 1841, leaving the county seat at Daleville off-center. Five commissioners selected this site south of the Choctawhatchee River, and the legislature named it Newton and designated it the county seat on February 9, 1843. In this new town, a wooden courthouse and a log jail were built. During the War Between the States from 1861 to 1865, Newton was a center of recruiting, including for the Home Guards, and in March 1865 local militia repulsed an attack by a band of irregulars. A Board of Physicians was established in 1856 to issue licenses, and The Southern Star was first published here in 1867. Newton was also a port for river boats until a railroad was built in 1890, and it was home to Killebrew's Mill, Kill Kare Kamp, Methodist Academy, and Baptist Collegiate Institute, which operated from 1898 to 1929. After the courthouse burned on March 22, 1869, the county seat was moved to Ozark in 1870.