The Haskell County Courthouse was built in 1906 in an Italian Renaissance style as designed by Larmour & Watson. The limestone structure was renovated in 1931 and 1976.
The Texas Legislature formed Haskell County in 1858 from lands formerly assigned to Milam and Fannin counties. However, due to Indian hostilities in the area, the county remained unsettled for nearly 20 years. During this period several Indian battles were recorded including an encounter at Double Mountain on April 3, 1867, and Capt. Adna R. Chaffee’s fight on South Point Creek near the Jones county line in March 1868. By 1876, Indian conflicts had subsided, and the county was re-established.
The final founding of the county is aptly described by historian June Rayfield Welch in “The Texas Courthouse Revisited.”
Created in 1858, Haskell could not be settled. Recreated in 1876, the county was organized in 1885. Those circulating organization petitions obtained signatures from transients and signed the names of dogs and horses to obtain the required number. When Throckmorton’s judge doubted if the county had 150 settlers, Frank Draper pointed out that the legal requirement was 150 names