The Town of Asheborough received its original charter from the State Legislature on Christmas Day 1796 - a time when the topic of the day was President George Washington's "Farewell Address" as published in The Philadelphia American Advertiser only a few weeks earlier. The village itself dates to 1780 when citizens demanded that the county seat be relocated from Johnstonville to a place more convenient for citizens of the almost square 801 square miles of Randolph County. Asheborough, named for Samuel Ashe, governor from 1795 to 1798, came into being on land owned by Jesse Henley and the first session of court was held here on June 12, 1793.

  The town of Asheborough began to take form on a 50-acre tract with the focal point the courthouse square on Main Street. In 1805 a large two-story frame building housed the courthouse and gradually lawyers and court officials took up residence here. For almost the first century of the town's existence, court-related business was the primary business of town. The sleepy village came to life when court was in session, turning the square into a carnival of activity that ranged from horse swapping to the selling and imbibing of grog. The whooping and yelling often caused the presiding judge to order the high sheriff to halt the ruckus.

  Asheborough was designated a post office in 1814. In November 1824, Jonathan Worth, a 22-year-old lawyer, took up residence in Asheborough and became the town's most prominent citizen. After serving six terms in the Legislature and two terms as state treasurer, he served two terms as governor, from 1865 to 1868. There was no formal town government until 1829. The town petitioned the legislature to reincorporate and appoint new commissioners so that improvements could be made. From 1836 to 1844, Benjamin Swain, a lawyer and editor, published the town's first newspaper, Southern Citizen, a weekly. In one of his editions, Swaim called Asheboro an "uncommonly healthy and pleasant" village of about 100 inhabitants. In 1850-51, the Fayetteville and Western Plank Road section through Asheboro was completed. At this time Asheboro had 32 households totaling 154 people, including 11 free blacks.

  The first church in Asheboro, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was built in 1834. The Presbyterian Church was organized in 1850 and a sanctuary built in 1852. By this time much of the wealth of the town resulted from gold mining operations nearby.

 A period of stagnation followed the Civil War. In 1876, Asheboro's population had grown to about 200. Asheboro still had only two churches and two academies, one for males and one for females. Two hundred bales of cotton were sold at the Asheboro market that year.

  The High Point, Randleman, Asheboro and Southern Railroad arrived in Asheboro in July 1889, marking the beginning of a period of prosperity and growth. Competition came in 1896 with the arrival of the Montgomery Railroad, from Star to Asheboro. The railroad depots and a disastrous fire caused the center of town to shift. from Main Street to Sunset Avenue.

  The second century of Asheboro was marked by the establishment of its first bank, The Bank of Randolph, and Asheboro Telephone Company, both established in 1897.

  The arrival of the railroads caused a population explosion. The population nearly doubled every 10 years: 1890,510; 1900,992; 1910, 1,865; 1920, 2,559; and 1930, 5,021. By 1912 there already were about 30 stores in Asheboro plus two roller mills, two chair manufacturers, a lumber plant, hosiery mill, wheelbarrow factory and foundry.

  The present county courthouse was completed in July 1909, at a cost of$34,000 and the next 10 years resulted in unparalleled growth. Electricity arrived, along with a water system fed by wells. The fire department was organized, a new public school built and the first hospital organized. The industrial base expanded from wood products and blacksmith shops to textiles. The first of today's base of hosiery mills came with the chartering of Acme Hosiery Mills on December 19, 1908. The original product was cotton stockings.

  Without warning, on January 10, 1923, the Post Office Department changed the spelling of the town's name to" Ashboro". A compromise spelling of" Asheboro" resulted after a loud protest from citizens and Congressman William Cicero Hammer of Asheboro.

  The business tempo of the 1920s was smothered by The Great Depression and World War II, but the aftermath of World War II resulted in a flurry in industrial plants to augment the cluster of hosiery plants here. Stedman Manufacturing Co. expanded its handkerchief manufacturing during the war to make T-shirts for the navy. Klopman Mills was organized with its first plant in Asheboro. Eveready Battery Co., with two plants in Asheboro, was the first infusion of a mix of industries, followed by B.B. Walker Shoe Co., Black & Decker, Georgia Pacific, Klaussner Furniture Industries, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. wire plant, Knorr Best Foods, Kayser-Roth Hosiery, and others.

  In this Bicentennial Year, Asheboro has a population of 17,559, a land area of 14.81 square miles, a total property valuation of more than $992 million and a tax rate of 52-cents per $100 valuation. The City of Asheboro furnishes water and sewer service for the 1,371 acre site of the North Carolina Zoological Park and Gardens near Asheboro, the world's largest natural habitat zoo, and to a number of outlying homes, industries and communities.

  In recent years the City of Asheboro has concentrated on building a solid base of services with the creation of a series of lakes for water supply, fresh water and waste water treatment plants, city streets and utilities. The present emphasis is on territorial expansion and planned development.                       Written by L. Barron Mills, Jr.

Asheboro Today

During the early part of the eighteenth century, the section that is now Asheboro was occupied by the Catawba Indians. The first white people came from Pennsylvania, in the eighteenth century. They included Scotch-Irish, Germans, and English Quakers. There are many traces of the Indians still found, such as arrow-points, tomahawks, pottery, and other relies.

The present town of Asheboro is approximately the center of Randolph County, and is the center of the state. Asheboro is situated on a beautiful ridge of large hills or mountains, as they are called locally, with gentle rolling plains. The highest of these mountains, overlooking Asheboro from the northwest, is Caraway. There are two river systems, Uwharrie and Deep, in the county, with the third rising near Asheboro, which is called Little River.

There are many remnants of Asheboro's rich heritage, the most rustic and popular of which are the region's many covered bridges. In 1933 there were no less than 51 covered bridges in the county. Whatever the reason for their abundance they attract many a tourist who wishes to take a step backward in time. It is difficult to imagine Asheboro as being part of one of the state's biggest metropolitan areas when so much of the city is deeply entrenched in the region's past history. However, Asheboro and Randolph County are included as part of the Piedmont Triad region, a six-county area whose central location puts it within 90 miles of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and within 200 miles of the Atlantic Ocean to the east.

Asheboro has many newer attractions to keep tourists from overdosing on history. These sights include the North Carolina Zoological Park, the Uwharrie Forest, and the Richard Petty Museum. Truly, Asheboro is a cornucopia of attractions of all kinds.

Asheboro is located along I-73-74, and is serviced by several other transportation routes that facilitate access to nearby communities and resources. Asheboro is about 20 miles south of Greensboro and 40 miles southeast of Winston-Salem.