The county was formed in 1779 from Guilford County. It was named
for Peyton Randolph, first president of the Continental
Congress. Some of the first settlers of what would become the
county were English Quakers, who settled along the Haw River,
Deep River, and Eno River. Randolph County was the original
location of what became Duke University. The county is home to
one of the last remaining covered bridges in the state. The
Pisgah Covered Bridge, in Union Township, is in the southwestern
part of the county and was destroyed by a flood in 2003, but has
been completely restored and is still standing.