Clemmons was founded in 1802 by a man named Peter Clemmons, who moved his wife and 14 children to the area from Delaware. Mr. Clemmons orginally bought 216 acres in Clemmons for $542. Although other settlers lived in the area, it was Peter Clemmons who developed Clemmons into a community. He opened a store and old deeds refer to him as "Peter Clemmons, merchant of Clemmonsville". The Peter Clemmons House is still located west of the United Methodist Church on Clemmons Road (US 158). Just west of his house, he built the first bridge across the Yadkin River.
Edwin T. Clemmons, who lived from 1826 until 1896, was a great-grandson of Peter Clemmons. He was educated in the Salem Congregation and married Harriet "Hattie" Butner in 1858. He and Hattie had no children.