Mebane is mostly in Alamance County with a part of it in Orange County. Named for for Congressman Alexander Mebane who was a Brigadier General of the North Carolina Militia. The railroad arrived in 1855, and the town of Mebanesville was incorporated in 1881. In 1883, the name of the town was changed to Mebane, and the charter was amended to declare it the City of Mebane in the 1980s.