Trenton, the county seat of Dade County, was first settled in the 1830s and was called Salem. The city, incorporated February 18, 1854, was later renamed Trenton in honor of industrial engineers from Trenton, New Jersey who came in search of coal and iron.

Trenton hosts the Dade County Days held each May, which features food, crafts and entertainment. In the late 1890s, Dade County built a new courthouse, jail and library in downtown Trenton. The old courthouse, a 1926 brick structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places, still stands at the center of the town square.