Randolph County, North Carolina: History
The area which eventually became known as Randolph county was originally inhabited by Siouan Native Americans including Saponi and Keyauwee. In the 1700s, European settlers moved into the area, namely Germans, Scotch-Irish, and English, some of whom were Quakers and Moravians. The Legislature of 1779, then sitting at Halifax, passed an act providing for the formation of a new county from parts of Guilford and Rowan, to be called Randolph. It was named for Peyton Randolph, first president of the Continental Congress.
In the antebellum period, Randolph County was economically poor and characterized by smallholding farmers.
The outbreak of the American Civil War caused division in the county. Many resident Quakers were pacifists and opposed to the war, while poorer conscripts resented being detailed to the frontlines while wealthier militia officers were frequently exempted from such service, leading to many refusing to muster out. In the 1864 gubernatorial election, Randolph was one of only three counties in the state to supply a majority of its votes to William Woods Holden, who was running on a peace platform. A substantial number of men drafted to serve in the Confederate Army from Randolph deserted and were kept hidden with assistance of the anti-Confederate Heroes of America, leading the state government to order operations in 1863 to detain them. The activity of deserters was curtailed by late 1864, though it increased in early 1865, with widespread reports of theft and robbery. Many local members of the Confederate Home Guard grew fearful of enforcing conscription, and some of the body's leaders doubted their subordinates' loyalty. To ease tensions, the state government dispatched 600 troops to the county in March and offered terms to the deserters.
After the war, the county's government became dominated by men who had supported the Union, and some used their new positions of power to enact revenge on those who had enforced the conscription law. Between 1868 and 1872, the white supremacist and reactionary Ku Klux Klan whose members were made up of Southern Democrats of the Democratic Party. However, despite the Klan's activity, the majority of whites residing in Randolph County remained largely supportive of the Republican Party and the civil rights movement. The most recent affiliation with the Klan took place in May 2017 at the biker gang The Rebel Rousers, headquarters in Asheboro for a cross burning ceremony.
Randolph's textile industry expanded after the war with the establishment of new mills along the Deep River.
In 1911, a new county called Piedmont County was proposed, with High Point as its county seat, to be created from Guilford, Davidson, and Randolph counties. Many people appeared at the Guilford County courthouse to oppose the plan, vowing to go to the state legislature to protest. The state legislature voted down the plan in February 1911.