Due to a surveyor's error, the county seat of Van Zandt County was located on private property in 1850. An election was called 27 years later because of discontent with the site. On May 28, 1877, County Judge Cadwell Walton Raines ordered court records moved to Wills Point from Canton. Many citizens objected, and about 200 armed men from around Canton marched on Wills Point. Governor R. B. Hubbard assigned militia troops to maintain order and fighting was averted. The records were returned in October 1878 and the county seat ultimately remained in Canton. (1997)