Alamance County ()
[, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the ]University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
. Retrieved September 18, 2012. is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
in
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population was 171,415.
Its
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is
Graham.
Formed in 1849 from
Orange County to the east, Alamance County has been the site of significant
historical events,
textile manufacturing
Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...
, and
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
.
Alamance County comprises the
Burlington, NC
Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the
Greensboro–
Winston-Salem–
High Point, NC
Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 1,736,099 in 2023.
History
Before being formed as a county, the region had at least one known small
Southeastern tribe of
Native Americans in the 18th century, the
Sissipahaw, who lived in the area bounded by modern
Saxapahaw, the area known as the Hawfields, and the
Haw River
The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, which is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States. It was first documented as the "Hau River" by John Lawson, a ...
. European settlers entered the region in the late 17th century chiefly following Native American trading paths, and set up their farms in what they called the "Haw Old Fields," fertile ground previously tilled by the Sissipahaw. The paths later became the basis of the railroad and interstate highway routes.
Alamance County was named after
Great Alamance Creek, site of the
Battle of Alamance
The Battle of Alamance, which took place on May 16, 1771, was the final confrontation of the Regulator Movement, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over various issues with the Colonial Government. The Regulators primarily wanted reforms ...
(May 16, 1771), a
pre-Revolutionary War battle in which militia under the command of Governor
William Tryon
Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...
crushed the
Regulator movement. Great Alamance Creek, and in turn Little Alamance Creek, according to legend, were named after a local Native American word to describe the blue mud found at the bottom of the creeks. Other legends say the name came from another local Native American word meaning "noisy river," or for the
Alamanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE, the Alemanni c ...
region of
Rhineland
The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, where many of the early settlers came from.
During the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
, several small battles and skirmishes occurred in the area that became Alamance County, several of them during the lead-up to the
Battle of Guilford Court House, including
Pyle's Massacre, the
Battle of Lindley's Mill,
and the Battle of Clapp's Mill.
In the 1780s, the
Occaneechi Native Americans returned to North Carolina from
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, this time settling in what is now Alamance County rather than their first location near
Hillsborough.
In 2002, the modern Occaneechi tribe bought of their ancestral land in Alamance County and began a Homeland Preservation Project that includes a village reconstructed as it would have been in 1701 and a 1930s farming village.
During the early 19th century, the
textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
industry grew heavily in the area, so the need for better transportation grew. By the 1840s, several mills were set up along the
Haw River
The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, which is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States. It was first documented as the "Hau River" by John Lawson, a ...
and near
Great Alamance Creek and other major tributaries of the Haw. Between 1832 and 1880, at least 14 major mills were powered by these rivers and streams. Mills were built by the Trollinger, Holt, Newlin, Swepson, and Rosenthal families, among others. One of them, built in 1832 by Ben Trollinger, is still in operation. It is owned by Copland Industries, sits in the unincorporated community of
Carolina and is the oldest continuously operating mill in North Carolina.
One notable textile produced in the area was the "Alamance plaids" or "Glencoe plaids" used in everything from clothing to
tablecloths.
The Alamance Plaids manufactured by textile pioneer Edwin M. Holt were the first colored cotton goods produced on power looms in the South, and paved the way for the region's textile boom. (Holt's home is now the Alamance County Historical Society.) But by the late 20th century, most of the plants and mills had gone out of business, including the mills operated by
Burlington Industries, a company based in
Burlington.

By the 1840s, the textile industry was booming, and the railroad was being built through the area as a convenient link between
Raleigh
Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
and
Greensboro. Efforts to split a new county off from
Orange County began in 1842. A bill to form the county from
Orange County. was filed by
Giles Mebane on January 1, 1849, which passed the legislature later that month. An election was held on April 19, 1849 and the split was approved by the voters, with the new county being established officially on April 24 by Governor
Charles Manly.
Civil War
In March 1861, Alamance County residents voted overwhelmingly against North Carolina's secession from the Union, 1,114 to 254. Two delegates were sent to the
State Secession Convention, Thomas Ruffin and
Giles Mebane, who both opposed secession, as did most of the delegates sent to the convention.
At the time of the convention, around 30% of Alamance County's population were slaves (total population around 12,000, including roughly 3,500 slaves and 500 free Black people).
North Carolina was reluctant to join other Southern states in secession until the
Battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861. When Lincoln called up troops,
Governor John Ellis replied, "I can be no party to this wicked violation of the laws of the country and to this war upon the liberties of a free people. You can get no troops from North Carolina." After a special legislative session, North Carolina's legislature unanimously voted for secession on May 20, 1861.
No battles took place in Alamance County, but it sent its share of soldiers to the front lines. In July 1861, for the first time in American history, soldiers were sent in to combat by rail. The 6th North Carolina was loaded onto railroad cars at Company Shops and transferred to the battlefront at
Manassas, Virginia
Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of ...
(
First Battle of Manassas).
Although the citizens of Alamance County were not directly affected throughout much of the war, in April 1865, they witnessed firsthand their sons and fathers marching through the county just days before the war ended with the surrender at
Bennett Place near
Durham. At Company Shops, General
Joseph E. Johnston stopped to say farewell to his soldiers for the last time. By the end of the war, 236 people from Alamance County had been killed in the course of the war, more than any other war since the county's founding.
Kirk–Holden War
Some of the Civil War's most significant effects were seen after it ended. Alamance County briefly became a center of national attention when in 1870
Wyatt Outlaw, an
African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
town commissioner in
Graham, was lynched by the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
. He was president of the Alamance County Union League of America (a progressive reform branch of the Federal Government), helped to establish the Republican party in North Carolina, and advocated establishing a school for African Americans. His offense was that
Governor William Holden had appointed him a
justice of the peace, and he had accepted the appointment. Outlaw's body was found hanging 30 yards from the courthouse, with a note pinned to his chest reading, "Beware! You guilty parties – both white and black." Outlaw was the central figure in political cooperation between blacks and whites in the county.
On July 8, 1870, Governor Holden declared
Caswell County to be in a state of
insurrection and sent North Carolina militiamen to Caswell and Alamance Counties, under the command of Union veteran George W. Kirk, beginning the so-called Kirk–Holden war. Kirk's troops ultimately arrested 82 men.
The Grand Jury of Alamance County indicted 63 klansmen for felonies and 18 for the murder of Wyatt Outlaw. Soon after the indictments were brought, Democrats in the legislature passed a bill to repeal the law under which the indictments had been secured. The 63 felony charges were dropped. The Democratic Party then used a national program of "Amnesty and Pardon" to proclaim amnesty for all who committed crimes on behalf of a secret society. This was extended to the klansmen of Alamance County. There would be no justice in the case of Wyatt Outlaw.
Holden's support for
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
led to his
impeachment
Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In Eur ...
and removal by the North Carolina Legislature in 1871.
Dairy industry
The county was once the state leader in
dairy
A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...
production. Several dairies including Melville Dairy in Burlington were headquartered in the county. With increasing real estate prices and a slump in milk prices, most dairy farms have been sold and many of them developed for real estate purposes.
World War II and the Cold War
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
Fairchild Aircraft built airplanes at a plant on the eastern side of Burlington. Among the planes built there was the AT-21 gunner, used to train bomber pilots. Near the Fairchild plant was the
Western Electric
Western Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, ...
Burlington works. During the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, the plant built radar equipment and guidance systems for missiles and many other electronics for the government, including the guidance system for the
Titan
Titan most often refers to:
* Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn
* Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology
Titan or Titans may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Fictional entities
Fictional locations
* Titan in fiction, fictiona ...
missile. The plant closed in 1992 and sat abandoned until 2005, when it was purchased by a local businessman for manufacturing.
The
USS ''Alamance'', a
''Tolland''-class attack cargo ship, was built during and served in and after World War II.
21st century
Alamance County's population has grown significantly, with the city of
Mebane tripling in size between 1990 and 2020. The county has seen significant business and industry growth, including the additions of the North Carolina Commerce Park and the North Carolina Industrial Center, as well as new retail opportunities near
Interstates 85 and
40 on the eastern (Tanger Outlets) and western (University Commons and Alamance Crossing) sides of the county.
Some growth has been attributed to illegal immigration, which has led to ongoing legal issues. In 2012, the Department of Justice found the Alamance County Sheriff's Office to use discriminatory policing, however the case was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge
Thomas D. Schroeder, finding that the government failed to demonstrate that the ACSO had engaged in discriminatory policing.
Beginning in 2014, the county has been home to a number of political demonstrations. In October 2020, during a demonstration prior to the
2020 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...
, Alamance County sheriff's deputies and Graham police used pepper spray against crowd members. Law enforcement reported that pepper spray had been deployed to disperse the crowd following an assault on an officer who was trying to shut down a generator the march organizers had brought, in violation of a signed agreement.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.48%) is water.
The county is in the
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
physiographical region. It has a general rolling terrain with the
Cane Creek Mountains rising to over in the south-central part of the county just north of
Snow Camp.
Bass Mountain, one of the prominent hills in the range, is home to a world-renowned
bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...
festival every year. Also, isolated
monadnock
An inselberg or monadnock ( ) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain.
In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an ...
s are in the northern part of the county that rise to near or over above sea level.
The largest river that flows through Alamance County is the
Haw, which feeds into
Jordan Lake in
Chatham County, eventually leading to the
Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...
. The county is also home to numerous creeks, streams, and ponds, including
Great Alamance Creek, where a portion of the
Battle of Alamance
The Battle of Alamance, which took place on May 16, 1771, was the final confrontation of the Regulator Movement, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over various issues with the Colonial Government. The Regulators primarily wanted reforms ...
was fought. The three large municipal reservoirs are: Lake Cammack, Lake Mackintosh, and Graham-Mebane Lake (formerly Quaker Lake). The southwest end of the county is drained by
North Rocky River Prong and
Greenbrier Creek, two tributaries of the
Rocky River in the
Deep River system.
State and local protected areas/sites
*
Alamance Battleground State Historic Site
* Bass Mountain Summit
*
Burlington Downtown Depot
* Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area
*
Cedarock Park
* Graham Regional Park
* Lake Cammack Park & Marina
* Shallow Ford Natural Area
*
The Valley Golf Course
Major water bodies
*
Great Alamance Creek
*
Cane Creek (Haw River tributary, left bank)
*
Cane Creek (Haw River tributary, right bank)
*
Haw River
The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, which is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States. It was first documented as the "Hau River" by John Lawson, a ...
* Lake Cammack
* Lake Mackintosh
*
Little Alamance Creek
* Poppaw Creek
* Quaker Creek Reservoir
* Sellers Manufacturing Company Lake
* Stagg Creek
Adjacent counties
*
Caswell County – north
*
Orange County – east
*
Chatham County – south-southeast
*
Randolph County – southwest
*
Guilford County – west
*
Rockingham County – northwest
Major highways

* (concurrent) also known as the Sam Hunt Freeway, named after a former North Carolina Secretary of Transportation. Interstates 85/40 run east-to-west through the central part of the county, extending to
Hillsborough and
Greensboro, respectively.
* nearly parallels 85/40 a few miles north of the interstates as it passes through the downtown sections of Burlington, Haw River, and Mebane.
* runs southwest to northeast from the
Liberty
Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
area (Randolph County), through Burlington, Graham, and Haw River, to the Pleasant Grove Community area, before turning northeast and continuing into
Orange County.
* runs from its northwestern end at its intersection with U.S. Highway 70 in Burlington southeast to the Orange County line in the southeast part of the county.
* runs southwest to northeast entering from
Guilford County into Kimesville, then through Burlington, to Pleasant Grove. It then turns north and heads to
Caswell County.
* serves as the main north–south route through the county. It enters from the south at the Chatham County line into Eli Whitney, then through the major cities of Graham and Burlington, and a small part of Elon, before continuing north and heading through the Altamahaw-Ossipee area, finally moving into Caswell and Rockingham Counties.
* forms a loop through downtown Burlington, starting at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Chapel Hill Road before moving north, then northwest, then going through Elon and moving on to
Gibsonville and
Guilford County.
* runs roughly north from its southern terminus at an intersection with N.C. Highway 54, moving through Mebane and heading north into Caswell County.
Major infrastructure
*
Burlington–Alamance Regional Airport
*
Burlington Station
Demographics
The Latino population rapidly expanded between 1990 and 2005 due to immigration.
2020 census
As of the
2020 census, there were 171,415 people, 64,316 households, and 41,793 families residing in the county.
2010 census
At the
2010 census, there were 151,131 people, 59,960 households, and 39,848 families residing in the county. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 66,055 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 71.1%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 18.8%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.7%
Native American, 1.2%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 6.1% from
other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. 11% of the population were
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race.
There were 59,960 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 26.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 19, 7.2% from 20 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.7 years. For every 100 females there were 92.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,430, and the median income for a family was $54,605. Males had a median income of $31,906 versus $23,367 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $23,477. About 13.7% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 25% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.
Government and politics

Lying between overwhelmingly liberal and Democratic
Orange County and
Durham County to the east, equally Democratic
Guilford County to the west, and heavily conservative and Republican
Randolph County to the southwest, Alamance leans Republican, though not as overwhelmingly as many other suburban counties in the Piedmont Triad. The last Democratic nominee for president to carry Alamance County was Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Alamance County is a member of the regional
Piedmont Triad Council of Governments. The county is led by the Alamance County Board of Commissioners and the County Manager, who is appointed by the Board of Commissioners. County residents also elect two other county government offices: the
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
and
Register of Deeds.
Alamance County has provided North Carolina with three
governors
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
and two
U.S. senators: Governor
Thomas Holt, Governor and Senator
Kerr Scott, Governor
Robert W. (Bob) Scott (Kerr Scott's son), and Senator
B. Everett Jordan.
County manager
Alamance County adopted the
council-manager form of government in the 1970s, where the day-to-day management of county business is done by an individual hired by the commissioners' board. Since the establishment of the office, the following persons have served as county managers:
Current manager
Heidi York (July 2022–present)
Past managers
* Bryan Hagood (March 2017–March 2022)
* Craig Honeycutt (April 2009–March 2017)
* David I. Smith (August 2005–December 2008)
* David S. Cheek (July 1998–June 2005)
* Robert C. Smith
* Hal Larry Scott
* D.J. Walker
D.J. Walker and David Smith held dual roles as county manager and county attorney during their terms.
Arts and recreation
The arts
The Paramount Theater serves as a center of dramatic presentations in the community. To the south there is the
Snow Camp Outdoor Drama which has plays from late spring to early fall in the evenings. Alamance County is also home to the Haw River Ballroom, a large music and arts venue in
Saxapahaw.
Parks

Alamance County, Burlington, Graham, Elon, Haw River, Swepsonville, and Mebane all have small parks that are not listed here. Major parks include:
*
Cedarock Park, located south of the intersection of Interstate 85/40 and NC Highway 49. The park is home to the
Cedarock Historic Farm, an old mill
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...
, and three
disc golf courses.
* Great Bend Park at Glencoe, located north of the intersection of US Highway 70, and NC Highways 87, 62, and 100 in downtown Burlington. Great Bend Park contains parts of the
Haw River Land and Paddle Trails and the
Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the Textile Heritage Museum, along with picnicking, fishing, and other opportunities. The park was built around the site of the
Glencoe Mills, an area that is currently under renovation with an old mill that has been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
Sports
Professional
The
Burlington Sock Puppets, members of the
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...
, a wood-bat collegiate summer league, play their home games at
Burlington Athletic Stadium in Fairchild Park. They were previously known as the
Burlington Royals
The Burlington Royals were a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians from 1986 to 2006 as the Burlington ...
from 2007 to 2020. The Royals were rebranded as the Sock Puppets following the contraction and reorganization of minor league baseball prior to the 2021 season. 2021 was the inaugural season for the revamped Appalachian League and the Sock Puppets. Prior to being known as the Royals, the team was also known as the
Burlington Indians from 1986 to 2006. This version of the team has been active since 1985, but Burlington hosted a minor league baseball team for many years under the Burlington Indians and Burlington Bees.
Collegiate
The
Elon University
Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...
Phoenix play in the town of Elon. The Phoenix compete in the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
's Division I (
Championship Subdivision in football)
Colonial Athletic Association
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...
. Intercollegiate sports include
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
,
cross-country,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
,
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
,
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, and
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
for men, and basketball, cross-country, golf, indoor
track, outdoor track, soccer,
softball
Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
, tennis, and
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
for women.
Economy
Today, Alamance County is often described as a "bedroom" community, with many residents living in the county and working elsewhere due to low tax rates, although the county is still a major player in the textile and manufacturing industries. The current county-wide tax rate for Alamance County residents is 58.0
cents per $100 valuation. This does not include tax rates imposed by municipalities or fire districts.
The top employers in Alamance County are:
Education
Alamance County is served by the
Alamance-Burlington School System, several private elementary and secondary schools,
Alamance Community College, and
Elon University
Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...
.
Communities
File:Comté d'Alamance.png, 400px, Clickable map of Alamance County
poly 223 253 335 258 359 272 333 299 306 302 297 365 283 373 120 370 111 343 185 312 135 316 185 311 Burlington
poly 161 268 157 292 137 302 173 304 208 257 Elon
poly 151 248 150 288 108 305 97 257 Gibsonville
poly 314 307 362 305 365 325 409 320 421 378 370 386 304 423 Graham
poly 542 217 522 223 515 273 460 311 452 336 474 350 542 345 559 309 576 268 Mebane
poly 412 223 383 234 401 249 428 247 428 233 Grenn Level
poly 399 254 391 272 355 295 367 304 407 315 425 286 Haw River
The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, which is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States. It was first documented as the "Hau River" by John Lawson, a ...
poly 169 136 152 140 152 157 185 171 Ossipee
poly 393 386 378 408 392 426 436 411 436 399 Swepsonville
desc bottom-left
Cities
*
Burlington (largest community)
*
Graham (county seat)
*
Mebane (mostly)
Towns
*
Elon
*
Gibsonville (small part)
*
Green Level
*
Haw River
The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, which is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States. It was first documented as the "Hau River" by John Lawson, a ...
*
Ossipee
*
Swepsonville
Village
*
Alamance
Townships
The county is divided into thirteen
townships, which are both numbered and named.
* 1 (Patterson)
* 2 (Coble)
* 3 (Boone Station)
* 4 (Morton)
* 5 (Faucette)
* 6 (Graham)
* 7 (Albright)
* 8 (Newlin)
* 9 (Thompson)
* 10 (Melville)
* 11 (Pleasant Grove)
* 12 (Burlington)
* 13 (Haw River)
Census-designated places
*
Altamahaw
*
Glen Raven
*
Saxapahaw
*
Woodlawn
Unincorporated communities
*
Bellemont
*
Carolina
* Dogwood Acres
*
Eli Whitney
*
Glencoe
*
Hawfields
* Kimesville (also in Guilford County)
*
Mandale
*
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon ( / ALA-LC: ('Mountain of the Sheikh', ), , ) is a mountain, mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the Lebanon–Syria border, border between Syria and Lebanon a ...
*
Pleasant Grove
*
Snow Camp
Ghost towns
According to a 1975 study of the history of post offices in North Carolina by Treasure Index, Alamance County has 27
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
s that existed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Additionally, five other post offices no longer exist. These towns and their post offices were either abandoned as organized settlements or absorbed into the larger communities that now make up Alamance County.
* Albright, site located approximately south of exit 153 on
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...
* Carney, Near the site of
Cedarock Park
* Cane Creek
* Cedarcliff, between
Swepsonville and
Saxapahaw
* Clover Orchard, approximately northeast of
Snow Camp
* Curtis (Curtis Mills), approximately southeast of the village of
Alamance
* Glenddale, approximately north of
Pleasant Grove near the Alamance-
Caswell county line
* Hartshorn, about south-southeast of the Alamance Battleground Historic Site
* Holmans Mills, approximately east of Snow Camp
* Iola, about east of Altamahaw, nearly due north of Glencoe
* Lacey, about east of Eli Whitney
* Leota, approximately south of
Eli Whitney
* Loy, at the northern base of
Bass Mountain
* Manndale
* Maywood, approximately northeast of Altamahaw
* McCray (McRay), about east-northeast of
Glencoe
* Melville, approximately west-southwest of the intersection of Interstate 40 and
NC Highway 119
* Morton's Store, approximately north of
Altamahaw
* Nicholson, near the intersection of
NC Highway 87 and Bellemont-Mount Hermon Road
* Oakdale, in the southwest of the county, near the intersection of
NC Highway 49 and Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road
* Oneida
* Osceola
* Pleasant Grove, in the far northeast part of the county, east-northeast of the current Pleasant Grove
* Pleasant Lodge, to the west of the site of Oakdale, near the Alamance-
Guilford county line
* Rock Creek, due south of Alamance
* Shallow Ford, east of
Ossipee
* Shady Grove
* Stainback, about east-northeast of
Green Level
* Sutpin, on the same latitude as Snow Camp, approximately halfway between Snow Camp and Eli Whitney
* Sylvester
* Union Ridge, near the east bank of Lake Cammack, about from the Alamance-Caswell county line
* Vincent, north-northeast of Pleasant Grove
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Alamance County.
† = ''county seat''
Notable people

*
Jacob Brent, born in Graham, starred as "Mr. Mistoffelees" in the
Broadway and movie version of
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
's ''
Cats
The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
''
*
Billy Bryan, Center for the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, from 1977 to 1988 grew up in Burlington.
* Several generations of
Alex Haley's family may have lived in Alamance County, as noted in his 1976 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ''
Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' Coming from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
to
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, to
Caswell County, to Alamance County, and moving to
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
after the
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...
.
*
Thomas Michael Holt,
governor of North Carolina
The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...
from 1891 to 1893
*
John "John Boy" Isley, born and raised in Graham, "John Boy" of the
John Boy and Billy Show
*
Charley Jones, born in Alamance County,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
*
B. Everett Jordan, U. S. senator (Class 2) from 1958 to 1973
*
Don Kernodle, born in Burlington, five-time NWA champion and tag team partner of Sgt Slaughter; appeared in ''
Paradise Alley'' with
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...
*
Jack McKeon, manager of the
2003 World Series
The 2003 World Series (also known as the Centennial World Series) was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2003 Major League Baseball season, 2003 season. The 99th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-s ...
champion
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park.
The ...
*
Blanche Taylor Moore, convicted
murderer, whose life story was portrayed in the television movie "Black Widow: The Blanche Taylor Moore Story," starring
Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She portrayed the good witch List of Bewitched characters#Samantha Stephens, Samantha Step ...
*
Meg Scott Phipps, North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner (2001–2003)
*
Tequan Richmond, born in Burlington, stars as Drew Rock in ''
Everybody Hates Chris
''Everybody Hates Chris'' (stylized in all lowercase) is an American semi-autobiographical sitcom created by Chris Rock and Ali LeRoi that originally aired on UPN from 2005 to 2006, and then on The CW until 2009. The series is based loosely ...
'', and played a young Ray Charles in the movie ''
Ray''
*
Jeanne Robertson, humorist and professional speaker
*
Robert W. "Bob" Scott, governor of North Carolina from 1969 to 1973
*
W. Kerr Scott, Governor of North Carolina from 1949 to 1953, U. S. senator (Class 2) from 1954 to 1958
*
Brandon Tate
Brandon Tate (born October 5, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft. He pl ...
, born in Burlington, American football wide receiver for the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
*
Will Richardson, American football Offensive Linemen for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League
See also
*
List of counties in North Carolina
The U.S. state of North Carolina is divided into 100 County (United States), counties. North Carolina ranks 28th in size by area, but has the seventh-highest number of counties in the United States, country.
Following the Stuart Restoration, ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Alamance County, North Carolina
*
List of ghost towns in North Carolina
*
Haw River Valley AVA, wine region partially located in the county
*
Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, state-recognized tribe that resides in the county
References
Further reading
* Beatty, Bess. ''Alamance: The Holt Family and Industrialization in a North Carolina County, 1837–1900'' (LSU Press, 1999).
* Bissett, Jim, “The Dilemma over Moderates: School Desegregation in Alamance County, North Carolina,” ''Journal of Southern History,'' 81 (Nov. 2015), 887–930.
* Gant, Margaret Elizabeth. "The Episcopal Church in Burlington, 1879-1979: one hundred years of history." (2014)
online* Pierpont, Andrew Warren. ''Development of the textile industry in Alamance County, North Carolina'' (1953).
* Troxler, Carole Watterson. ''Shuttle and Plow: A History of Alamance County, North Carolina'' (1999).
* Whitaker, Walter E. ''Centennial History of Alamance County 1849–1949'' (Burlington Chamber of Commerce, 1949).
External links
*
*
Alamance County Public Libraries
{{Authority control
Populated places established in 1849
1849 establishments in North Carolina