[5] It was named for George M. Dallas, Vice President of the United States under James K. Polk.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km2), all of it land.

The old Gaston County courthouse, renovated in 1868 after a fire, still stands in the main square of the town and formerly served as the headquarters of the Dallas Police Department.

[9] Dallas began to decline in importance when the town commissioners refused to appropriate money for construction of bridges over several creeks for the Atlanta and Richmond Air-Line Railway in the 1872.

[10] The commissioners said the reason was because residents thought that trains would wake them during the night and frighten their livestock.

The Dallas Graded and High School, Dallas Historic District, Hoyle House, and Eli Hoyle House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[13] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,927 people, 1,833 households, and 1,158 families residing in the town.

The Dallas Branch of the Gaston County Public Library serves this community.