As early as colonial days, the area known as 达勒姆郡 was important to North Carolina history. 英语, Scots and Irish settled along the waterways of the present northeast corner of the county on land given to the Earl of Granville by the British Crown. As a result of the hard work of those early settlers, the area soon became a progressive and prosperous section of the state.

的 达勒姆市 began as a railroad station and settlement named for Dr. 巴特利特达勒姆. While the official birthdate is April 26, 1853 when the U. S. Post Office was established, the town was not incorporated until April 10, 1869. 的 tobacco manufacturing industry focused worldwide attention on the area after the 民事 War. As a result of that thriving business, Durham grew and prospered tremendously.

In 1881, Durham officials sought to become an autonomous political subdivision and decided to separate from Orange County. 达勒姆郡 was formed on April 17, 1881 from portions of land transferred into the county from Wake and Orange counties. In 1911, an additional portion of land was transferred into the county from Wake County.

第一个 委员会 convened its initial meeting May 2, 1881. 达勒姆郡 operated under the Commission form of government, with the chairman serving as chief administrator until 1930. 的 Manager form of government was then adopted and D. W. 博彩排名ome became the first manager of 达勒姆郡 serving until his death in 1949. E. S. 小Swindell. succeeded him on April 11, 1949 and served until his retirement in December, 1984. 约翰P. Bond, III was named 县经理 and served until his resignation in January of 1991. In September 1991, George H. Williams, became the 4th 县经理 and served until October 1995. 大卫·F. Thompson became the 5th 县经理 in May 1996 and served until February 2000. 迈克尔·米. Ruffin was the 6th county manager. He retired after 13 years of service in January 2014.  Wendell Davis was the 7th county manager, serving from April 2014 until May 2021. Dr. 金伯利J. Sowell was named the 8th and current 县经理. She brings to the job a wealth of experience having held numerous leadership positions prior to taking office in March 2022.

Learn more about the history of 达勒姆郡 Government when you visit the County's 公共信息 webpage.