Gaston County was established in 1846 from lands formerly part of Lincoln County and was named for Judge William Gaston of New Bern, who wrote the official song of the State of North Carolina. On this square stood the Gaston County courthouse from 1847 until the county seat was moved to Gastonia in 1911. The first courthouse, built of logs, was replaced by a brick building in 1848. In 1874, the interior of that building and many public records were destroyed by fire, but it was rebuilt within the original walls in 1875. Dallas, the former county seat, was named for George Mifflin Dallas, Vice President of the United States from 1845 to 1849, and the land on which it was built was donated to Gaston County by Jesse Holland.