Dodge County was created by an act of the legislature on Oct. 26, 1870, and was named for William E. Dodge, a New York lumberman who owned large areas of forest land and persuaded Congress to remove taxation from “the great staple of our state.” He built and gave the new county its first courthouse, which was replaced in 1908. The first county officers included Superior Court Judge J.R. Alexander, Clerk of Superior Court Ruben A. Harrell, Sheriff Jordan Brown, Tax Collector T. P. Willcox, Tax Receiver Jno. W. Bohannon, and Ordinary S.W. Burch.