In the history of Berettyóújfalu, the more than fifty-year period of dualism was a remarkable era. During these decades, the town underwent significant development and by the middle of the period due to its advantageous location, role in the commerce of the region, image and intellectual life Berettyóújfalu had become a regional centre. This period is rightly referred to as the years of „urbanisation” in Berettyóújfalju, a name that also refers to the main objective of the period.

The Town Development Act of 1871 reclassified Berettyóújfalu from a market town to a large village, which disappointed mainly the local leaders and intellectuals who were hoping for a municipal appointment. This minor setback did not, however, change the future direction of the municipality, which was seen as developing into a leading role in the Sárrét region. The main way to increase the weight and influence of the settlement was to relocate public offices and institutions to Berettyóújfalu.

By 1875, Berettyóújfalu had a two-story town hall, a district court and a tax office. In 1883 the district court was given the authority of the land registry, and also from that year the chief bailiff and the constable moved their seat here. A year later, as a result of the reorganization of the county administration, the settlement became the centre of the „Berettyóújfalu district” among the 13 new districts of Bihar. Its weekly markets had already played a central role in the region for years before the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, which by the end of the period had made Berettyóújfalu not only an administrative but also an economic centre of the district. Among the financial institutions, the Sárrét Savings Bank and the Sárrét People’s Bank, founded in 1870, had a branch in the settlement. From the 1870s, the intellectual life of the region was also livened up, from 1874 the Bihar megyei Községi Értesítő journal was launched, and after its name change in 1875 the newspaper Sárrét was launched, which, with minor and major breaks and name changes, kept the population of the region informed about public life until 1918.