Dallas

Formed January 29, 1841 (70^th county)

Dallas County (17,070), Buffalo (3,292)

The Modern facility was built in 1956 of white brick and masonry to replace a classier 1868 structure.  The structure is located on a square at Maple, Main, Cedar, and Commercial streets.  United States Highway 65 passes nine blocks to the west of the location.  A memorial veterans’ wall is on the courthouse grounds.  Eugene F. Johnson provided the designs.  A County Administration Building supports the courthouse.  There was also an 1847 courthouse in Buffalo, the only county seat.  The county was organized on January 29, 1841 from Native American Territory as the 70^th county.  It is named for United States Vice President George M. Dallas.  The county seat is named for the prairie on which it is located. 

Dallas County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 1 Commissioner (legislative.)  One Circuit Court Judge serves Dallas, Benton, Hickory, Polk, Webster counties and One County Court Judge and a court clerk serve Dallas County (judicial.) The county is in the southwest part of the state.  Springfield, Missouri is directly southwest and Saint Louis, Missouri is northeast of the county.  The county center is 6.5 miles Northeast of Buffalo.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Camden, Laclede, Webster, Greene, Polk, and Hickory counties. 

The area of the county is 542 square miles.  It is 70 out of 115 in the state.  It ranks 63 out of 115 in population in the state.  It has a density of 31.5 persons per square mile making it 54 out of 115 in the state.  Dallas County has 22.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 65 crosses the county north to south from Hickory County to Greene County.  The county is shaped like the State of Alabama.  Buffalo is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Buffalo is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 19.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.