Burlington is located in the northern-central part of North Carolina and a city in Alamance County and is in between Greensboro in the west and by Durham in the east. In 1851, several maintenance shops were erected for the North Carolina Railroad and were incorporated as the Town of Company Shops in 1851 but were then rechartered as Burlington in 1887. When the shops were transferred to Spencer, the town’s economy suffered a significant loss in 1896. However, the introduction of the small manufacturing plants that were established in the town brought recovery to its economy. And the large-scale textile operations were also followed during the 1920s. The textile and apparel industries are essential and are being augmented by diversified manufactures and include printing and publishing.