Alamance County was formed in 1849 from Orange County and Graham was designated as its county seat. The Alamance County Courthouse is an imposing three-story stone, neoclassic revival building located on a hexagonal plot in the center of Graham's commercial district. Designed in 1925 by Harry Barton, a noted architect of the period, the structure replaced the original brick courthouse built in 1849. Sophisticated and richly detailed, the Alamance County Courthouse is the major landmark for Graham. Its scale, style and materials blend well with the town's commercial buildings, many of which are contemporaries of the courthouse.