Graham is a city and the county seat of Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 17,153.
History
Graham was laid out in 1849 as the county seat of the newly formed Alamance County, and was incorporated as a town in 1851; it became a city in 1961. It was named for William Alexander Graham, U.S. senator from North Carolina (1840–1843) and governor of North Carolina (1845–1849).
The lynching of Wyatt Outlaw, the first African-American Town Commissioner and Constable of Graham, on February 26, 1870, by the Ku Klux Klan, along with the assassination of State Senator John W. Stephens at the Caswell County Courthouse, provoked Governor William Woods Holden to declare martial law in Alamance and Caswell Counties, resulting in the Kirk-Holden War of 1870.
National Register of Historic Places
Alamance County Courthouse, Cedarock Park Historic District, Graham Historic District, William P. Morrow House, North Main Street Historic District, and Oneida Cotton Mills and Scott-Mebane Manufacturing Company Complex are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Geography
Graham is bordered to the north and the west by the city of Burlington and to the northeast by the town of Haw River. The Haw River runs along the east edge of Graham, and the city extends south as far as Alamance Creek. Interstate 85 runs through the city, leading east to Durham and west to Greensboro.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.67%, is water.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Graham has a Humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Education
The local school system is known as the Alamance-Burlington School System, which was created by a merger between the Alamance County School System and the Burlington City School System in 1996.
Local public schools in Graham include:
- Southern Alamance High School
- Graham High School
- Graham Middle School
- Southern Middle School
- Alexander Wilson Elementary School
- B. Everett Jordan Elementary School
- North Graham Elementary School
- South Graham Elementary School
Private schools include:
- Alamance Christian School
Graham is also home to Alamance Community College, a two-year technical college.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Graham had a population of 17,157. The median age was 38.7 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.1 males age 18 and over.
99.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 7,199 households in Graham, including 3,962 families. Of all households, 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 36.7% were married-couple households, 18.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 37.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Notable people
- Jane Albright, women's college basketball coach (Northern Illinois Huskies, Wisconsin Badgers, Wichita State Shockers)
- Jesse Branson, basketball player (Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Buccaneers)
- Clise Dudley, baseball pitcher (Brooklyn Robins, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates)
- Donnell S. Holt, business executive (Cannon Mills)
- Jim Holt, baseball player (Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics)
- Jamie Newman, football player (Philadelphia Eagles, Hamilton Tiger-Cats)
- Wyatt Outlaw, politician
- Jeanne Robertson, comedian and beauty pageant titleholder (Miss North Carolina 1963)
References
External links
- City of Graham official website