Asheboro, the county seat of Randolph County, is an industrial town 25 miles south of Greensboro in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Prior to the arrival of white settlers around 1740, Asheboro was the site of Indian villages. One such village was discovered in 1936 and an Indian burial ground has also been located. When Randolph County was organized in 1779, the town of Asheboro was founded and made the county seat. The name honors Samuel Ashe, governor of North Carolina at the time the town was incorporated in 1796. The original form was Asheborough, which was retained until 1923, when the Post Office changed it to "Ashboro." Local citizens objected, and a compromise name of "Asheboro" was accepted. The town grew slowly. After the Civil War, its population still stood at around 200. However, the High Point, Randleman, Asheboro & Southern Railroad arrived in 1889 and Asheboro began to grow rapidly, roughly doubling its population every decade through 1930. The current Randolph County Courthouse was built in 1909 and during the next decade, several more advances were made, including a fire department and Asheboro's first hospital. The present Randolph Hospital, which dates back to a meeting of community leaders in 1928, opened its doors in 1932. The North Carolina Zoological Park and Gardens near Asheboro represent the world's largest natural habitat zoo. Randolph Community College opened in 1962 as an industrial school, joining North Carolina's new system of community colleges the following year. The city is home to two museums: the American Classic Motorcycle Museum and the North Carolina Aviation Museum.