Graham is located in Alamance County (of which it is the county seat) between Durham and Greensboro along Interstate Hwy 40/85 on the banks of the Haw River near Burlington, Hillsborough, Haw River, and the Alamance Battleground.
In the early 1800's Orange County was made up of both present day Alamance and Orange Counties. People believed that the county was to large and decided to split the county in two, creating Alamance County. In 1849, Graham was selected to be the county seat for the new county. At that time the town consisted of lots surrounding the courthouse. Two years later the town was incorporated. The population estimate for July 1, 1998 was 11,806, an increase of 1,438 since 1990.
Graham is part of the Greensboro--Winston-Salem--High Point metro area.