The NC Chapter of APWA was formed in 1957. The organizational meeting was held in conjunction with the NC League of Municipalities Third Annual Municipal Public Works Conference at North Carolina State University on February 21, 1957. This first meeting was attended by approximately 40 municipal officials including the assistant director of the National APWA, Robert D. Bugler. At this meeting, Mr. H.W. Kueffner, Director of Public Works in Durham, was unanimously elected the first president of the chapter.
The first annual chapter meeting was held in Raleigh at the Clyde-Erdel Student Union at NC State University in 1958. Thirty-one municipal officials attended. The Sanitation Division was the first technical division formed in 1962, followed by the Streets Division in 1971. The Administrative Management Division, Buildings and Grounds Division, Equipment Services Division (1988), and Water Resources Division have since formed. The Technology Division was formed in 2009.