Founded in 1763, Providence and its meeting house became a birthplace of a new country through pre-revolutionary meetings, of Alamance County, of the county seat at Graham, of an early public library, of a courthouse, and of a school that educated college presidents and a governor, while also serving as a center where area leaders found guidance and faith as they founded other area churches. It was also the birthplace of Elon University. Along the early Indian Path and stagecoach road here, the names O'Kelly, Rainey, Worth, Turrentine, Gason, Long, Stanley, and Jones left their marks on the area.