County · code 37005
Alleghany CountyNorth Carolina
Alleghany County is a county in North Carolina, with its seat in Sparta. It was created in 1859 from Ashe County and covers 234.8 square miles.
- Founded1859
- County seatSparta
- Named forAllegheny Mountains
- Land area235 sq mi + 1.4 sq mi water
- Population10,888 2020 Census
- Parcels mapped14,808 checked 15 October 2026
Where it is
Alleghany on the map of North Carolina
North Carolina has 100 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.
History
Founded in 1859
An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.
Alleghany County was created in February 1859 from Ashe County and named after the Allegheny Mountains. Between 1869 and 1899, the county underwent numerous small boundary adjustments, gaining and losing areas to neighboring counties including Wilkes, Surry, and Ashe.
- c. 1859Alleghany County created Alleghany created from Ashe. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1858-1859, pub., ch. 3, sec. 1/p. 8
- 1869Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Wilkes. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1869-1870, pub., ch. 6, sec. 1/p. 48
- 1869Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Surry. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1869-1870, pub., ch. 8, sec. 1/p. 49
- 1889Gained territory Alleghany gained from Ashe. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1889, pub., ch. 256, sec. 1/pp. 268-269
- 1899Lost territory Alleghany lost to Ashe (boundary depicts net effect of Alleghany / Ashe boundary adjustments of 1891, 1893, and 1899 to accommodate local property owners). · N.C. Sess. Laws 1899, pub., ch. 105, sec. 1/p. 235
Show all 20 changes
- c. 1859Alleghany County created Alleghany created from Ashe. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1858-1859, pub., ch. 3, sec. 1/p. 8
- 1869Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Wilkes. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1869-1870, pub., ch. 6, sec. 1/p. 48
- 1869Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Surry. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1869-1870, pub., ch. 8, sec. 1/p. 49
- 1870Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Surry. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1869-1870, pub., ch. 21, sec. 1/p. 61
- 1871Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Wilkes. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1870-1871, pub., ch. 125, sec. 1/p. 193
- 1872Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Ashe. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1871-1872, pub., ch. 109, sec. 1/p. 156
- 1875Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Surry. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1874-1875, pub., ch. 160, sec. 1/p. 186
- 1889Gained territory Alleghany gained from Ashe. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1889, pub., ch. 256, sec. 1/pp. 268-269
- 1891Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Wilkes. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1891, pub., ch. 166, sec. 1/p. 153; N.C. Sess. Laws 1911, pub., ch. 30, sec. 1/p. 61
- 1891Gained territory Act of 5 March 1889, whereby Alleghany gained from Ashe, amended to accommodate local property owners south of Peach Bottom Mountain; see 15 February 1899. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1891, pub., ch. 236, secs. 1, 4/pp. 193-194
- 1893Changed Boundary change of 31 March 1891, adjusting boundary between Alleghany and Ashe, amended to accommodate local property owners; see 15 February 1899. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1893, pub., ch. 234, secs. 1, 4/p. 196
- 1899Lost territory Alleghany lost to Ashe (boundary depicts net effect of Alleghany / Ashe boundary adjustments of 1891, 1893, and 1899 to accommodate local property owners). · N.C. Sess. Laws 1899, pub., ch. 105, sec. 1/p. 235
- 1899Lost territory Alleghany lost small area to Wilkes. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1899, pub., ch. 567, sec. 1/p. 763
- 1903Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Wilkes to accommodate local property owner. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1903, pub., ch. 389, sec. 1/pp. 657-658
- 1905Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Wilkes to accommodate local property owners. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1905, pub., ch. 668, sec. 1/p. 819
- 1909Changed Boundary between Alleghany and Wilkes defined (no change). · N.C. Sess. Laws 1909, pub., ch. 73, sec. 1/pp. 83-84
- 1909Lost territory Alleghany lost small area to Wilkes (repealed act of 4 March 1903). · N.C. Sess. Laws 1909, pub., ch. 821, sec. 1/p. 1205
- 1929Changed Boundary between Alleghany and Wilkes (in vicinity of Bryans Knob) adjusted to accommodate local property owners. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1929, pub.-loc., ch. 211, secs. 1-2/pp. 178-179
- 1933Gained territory Alleghany gained small area from Wilkes to accommodate local property owner. · N.C. Sess. Laws 1933, pub.-loc., ch. 341, sec. 1/p. 331
- 1939Changed Boundary between Alleghany and Wilkes defined (no change). · N.C. Sess. Laws 1939, pub.-loc., ch. 464, sec. 1/pp. 512-513
Land and parcels
What the maps cover in Alleghany
Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.
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Parcels Good enough
Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 14,808 parcels from Alleghany County. Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
checked 15 October 2026 -
Address points Official
One point per address, 9,590 in all from NC Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (CGIA, NC Dept of Information Technology) for NC OneMap, with the North Carolina 911 Board (AddressNC program).
checked 14 October 2026 -
Buildings Reference
Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026
- Official
- from the office that keeps the record
- Good enough
- a reliable statewide or national copy
- Fallback
- a guide only; check the official record
- Missing
- nothing public found yet
People and land
Alleghany by the Census
Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Rules and offices
Who to ask before you build, dig or sell
Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.
Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.
GIS and maps
County government
- County government
The official website of Alleghany County.
See your own lot on these maps
Open Alleghany County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.
Questions
Common questions about Alleghany County
- When was Alleghany County founded?
- Alleghany County was founded in 1859, and named after Allegheny Mountains.
- What is the county seat of Alleghany County?
- The county seat of Alleghany County is Sparta.
- Is there an online parcel map for Alleghany County?
- Yes. Alleghany County publishes a parcel map of 14,808 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
- Has Alleghany County's boundary or name changed?
- Alleghany County was created in 1859. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 17 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Wilkes County, Ashe County and Surry County.
- Is my lot in a flood zone?
- We do not have flood maps for Alleghany County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.
Nearby