Saxapahaw ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated area in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Saxapahaw had a population of 1,671.
History
thumb|left|Mill homes in 1917
The Former Saxapahaw Spinning Mill and James Monroe Thompson House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name Saxapahaw is from the Catawban /sak'yápha:/, which is composed of /sak/ ("hill") and /yápha:/ ("step").
Saxapahaw, like most communities in Alamance County, was a mill town built around the community's cotton mill and along the Haw River. The first mill was built in the community in 1844 by the Quaker settler John Newlin, but was later demolished to make way for a brick structure. The current mill building was owned and operated by Dixie Yarns until 1994, when a tornado damaged the structure and operations never resumed. Building remodeling was completed in 2006 and the facility, now known as Rivermill, houses apartments.
The Haw River Ballroom is a music venue set in the former Dye House of Saxapahaw's historic cotton mill.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.01%, is water.