Palo Pinto County was created in 1856 and named for a creek south of here that was perhaps named by Spanish explorers of the Brazos River Valley. Its 320-acre county seat was surveyed at the geographical center and was originally named Golconda. In 1857, a court session called for the first courthouse, a wood frame building with two doors and three windows, and the contract was awarded on a bid of $300. In 1859, the town name was changed to Palo Pinto. In 1882, after the Texas legislature allowed counties to issue bonds for new courthouses, a large sandstone courthouse was built at a cost of $35,000 in the Second Empire style with a central clock tower. A two-story sandstone annex was added in 1906 and connected to the courthouse by an iron bridge, using sandstone quarried south of the city. In 1940, these buildings were demolished and a new courthouse was erected by Work Projects Administration workers. The reinforced-concrete building featured subtle classical detail, was clad with some sandstone from the old buildings, and was completed in 1942 at a cost of $250,000.