Alamance County was originally part of Orange County, the county immediately to the east. Alamance County was officially proclaimed a county in April of 1849. The boundary to the north finds Caswell County, south is Chatham County, and west is Guilford County.

Few facts in Alamance history are more disputed than the origin of the name "Alamance". Although some sources claim that Alamance was named by early German immigrants who came here from the "Alemanni" region of the Rhineland, others claim that the Indians called the Alamance Creek by the Indian word "Amonsi" or "Alamons," which meant "noisy river" or by another word which meant "blue clay".

Its central location placed Alamance County as an early player in the transportation system within the region. Early in the nineteenth century, Alamance begin a textile industry that sustained the economy of the county and is considered the beginning of the textile industry that spread throughout the South.

The county seat and county courthouse are located in Graham, named in honor of the former Secretary of the Navy, William A. Graham.

Alamance County, although small in size and population, has many town and community names one may discover during research on the area.

A list of older and current names should include Burlington (was Company Shops), Graham, Haw River, Mebane (was Mebanesville), Gibsonville, Elon College, Ossipee, Altamahaw, Glencoe, Carolina, Hopedale, Swepsonville, Saxapahaw, Alamance, Bellemont, Glen Raven, and Union Ridge.