From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hillsborough is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Orange County.^GR6

Its name was unofficially shortened to "Hillsboro" over the years (beginning in the 19th century) but was changed back to its original spelling in the late 1960s.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Native-American history 1.2 Colonial times and Revolutionary War 1.3 Civil War era 1.4 Auto racing 2 Notable Hillsboroughans 3 Geography 4 Demographics 5 References 6 External links 6.1 Hillsborough History

Local Native-American groups had lived in the Hillsborough area for thousands of years by the time European-American settlers discovered the area. Groups such as the Siouan, Occaneechi, and the Enos were some of the last Indians living in the Hillsborough area before they were displaced, with John Lawson's "Occaneechi Town" perhaps being visited in the area when he travelled through North Carolina in 1701. There are still remnants of these groups of people living in the area, mainly the Occaneechi-Saponis.

Hillsborough was founded in 1754, and was first owned, surveyed, and mapped by William Churton (a surveyor for Earl Granville) in that same year, Originally named Corbin Town (for Francis Corbin, a member of the governor's council and one of Granville's land agents) soon thereafter in 1754, and again renamed Childsburgh (in honor of Thomas Child, the attorney general for North Carolina from 1751-1760 and another one of Granville's land agents) in 1759. It was not until 1766 that it was named Hillsborough, after the Earl of Hillsborough, the British secretary of state for the colonies and a relative of royal Governor Tryon's.

It was an earlier Piedmont colonial town where court was held, and was the scene of some pre-Revolutionary War tensions (such as during the Regulator uprising). The North Carolina Regulators fought against laws they believed to be unfair that were set by local North Carolina officials.

The town was used as the home of the North Carolina state legislature during the American Revolution.^[1] The town was filled with lawyers and politicians at the time.^[1] Hillsborough was used as a base by British General Cornwallis in February of 1781.

The Burwell family ran a girl's academy called the Burwell School from 1837 to 1857 in their home on Churton Street. Elizabeth Keckley was enslaved in the Burwell household as a teenager. She later became the dressmaker and confidant of Mary Todd Lincoln and wrote a memoir.

In 1864/1865, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston wintered just outside of Hillsborough. After his March to the Sea, while camped in Raleigh, Union General William T. Sherman offered an armistice to Johnston, who agreed to meet to discuss terms of surrender. Johnston, traveling east from Hillsborough and Sherman, traveling west from Raleigh along the Hillsborough-Raleigh Road, met approximately half-way near present-day Durham at a farmhouse now known as Bennett Place; they met three times between April 17, 18th and 26th, before they agreed on surrender terms. Johnston surrendered 90,000 Southern troops to Sherman, the largest surrender of troops during the war; this effectively ended the Civil War.^[1]

Occoneechee Speedway, just outside Hillsborough, was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open and is the only track remaining from that inaugural 1949 season. Bill France and the early founders of NASCAR bought land to build a one-mile oval track at Hillsborough, but opposition from local religious leaders prevented the track from being built in the town and NASCAR officials built the large speedway Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama instead.^[2]

• George B. Anderson - Civil War Confederate general, killed at the Battle of Antietam
• Phil Harvey - Enterpreneur
• Logan Pause - Soccer player
• Doug Marlette - cartoonist and author, maintained a home in Hillsborough and was buried there^[3]
• Lee Smith - Author
• William Hooper - A lawyer and politician who signed the United States Declaration of Independence for North Carolina
• Shepperd Strudwick - Actor
• Sarah Hoyt - Author
• Frances Mayes - Author
• Connie Ray - Actress, The Torkelsons
• Elizabeth Keckly - Dressmaker and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln and enslaved in the Burwell Household

Hillsborough is located at 36°4′29″N, 79°6′15″W (36.074794, -79.104183),^GR1 along the Eno River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²), of which, 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²) of it is land and 0.22% is water.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,446 people, 2,101 households, and 1,428 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,188.7 people per square mile (459.1/km²). There were 2,329 housing units at an average density of 508.3/sq mi (196.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 60.26% White, 34.83% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 1.62% from other races, and 2.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.

There were 2,101 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 20.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,111, and the median income for a family was $46,793. Males had a median income of $36,636 versus $29,052 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,818. About 11.0% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.

• Official Web site of Hillsborough, NC
• Hillsborough/Orange Chamber of Commerce
• OurHillsborough.com Online community forum
• Squeeze the Pulp Internet forum on politics, news, and community in Orange County
• OrangePolitics progressive multi-author blog about Orange County issues
• Hillsborough, North Carolina travel guide from Wikitravel

• The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough
• The Burwell School Historic Site
• Cameron Park Elementary School, Hillsborough, NC History
• Orange County historic information cache

• Hillsborough, North Carolina is at coordinates 36°04′29″N 79°06′15″W / 36.074794, -79.104183Coordinates: 36°04′29″N 79°06′15″W / 36.074794, -79.104183

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Orange County, North Carolina
County seat: Hillsborough
City	Mebane
Towns	Carrboro | Chapel Hill | Hillsborough
CDPs	Efland | Rougemont