Graham

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. 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. 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.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,447
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  11,745
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  10,966
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,468
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,431
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  9,988
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  9,277
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,648

Largest nearby schools

• Southern Alamance High
  High · Graham · 1,360 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• Walter M Williams High
  High · Burlington · 1,343 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• Eastern Alamance High
  High · Mebane · 1,256 students · 19.9:1 ratio
• Western Alamance High
  High · Elon · 1,036 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Hugh M Cummings High
  High · Burlington · 981 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Turrentine Middle
  Middle · Burlington · 929 students · 19:1 ratio
• Graham High
  High · Graham · 913 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• Western Alamance Middle
  Middle · Elon · 822 students · 17.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2019-03-26
  8 km E of Archdale, North Carolina
• M 2.58 — 2015-11-15
  10 km S of Denton, North Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2006-11-03
  6 km S of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• M 2.6 — 2006-10-17
  7 km S of Winston-Salem, North Carolina