Editing Hillsborough, North Carolina

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name            = Hillsborough, North Carolina
| settlement_type          = [[Town]]
| nickname                 = 
| named_for                = [[Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hillsboroughnc.gov/community/about-hillsborough/|title=Town of Hillsborough &#124; About Hillsborough|website=Hillsboroughnc.gov|access-date=September 12, 2022|archive-date=September 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912175034/https://www.hillsboroughnc.gov/community/about-hillsborough/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| motto                    = "Around the Corner, Ahead of the Curve." - Orange County Motto<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://chapelboro.com/featured/orange-county-makes-new-slogan-official|title=Orange County Makes New Slogan Official - Chapelboro.com|date=June 7, 2016|work=Chapelboro.com|access-date=October 24, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>
| image_skyline            = Old Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough, NC.JPG
| imagesize                = 
| image_caption            = [[Old Orange County Courthouse (North Carolina)|Old Orange County Courthouse]]
| image_seal               = Hillsborough, NC Town Seal.png
| image_map                = NCMap-doton-Hillsborough.PNG
| mapsize                  = 250x200px
| map_caption              = Location of Hillsborough, North Carolina
| image_map1               = 
| mapsize1                 = 
| map_caption1             = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name         = United States
| subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[North Carolina]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in North Carolina|County]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orange]]
| government_footnotes     = 
| government_type          = 
| leader_title             = 
| leader_name              = 
| leader_title1            = 
| leader_name1             = 
| established_title        = 
| established_date         = 
| unit_pref                = Imperial
| area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=September 20, 2022}}</ref>
| area_magnitude           = 
| area_total_km2           = 14.67
| area_land_km2            = 14.49
| area_water_km2           = 0.19
| area_total_sq_mi         = 5.67
| area_land_sq_mi          = 5.59
| area_water_sq_mi         = 0.07
| population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes     = 
| population_total         = 9660
| population_density_km2   = 666.76
| population_density_sq_mi = 1726.85

<!-- General information -->| timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset               = -5
| timezone_DST             = EDT
| utc_offset_DST           = -4
| elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft             = 614
| coordinates              = {{coord|36|04|48|N|79|06|39|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code              = 27278
| area_code                = [[Area code 919|919]]
| website                  = [http://www.ci.hillsborough.nc.us/ www.ci.hillsborough.nc.us]
| footnotes                = 
| pop_est_as_of            = 
| pop_est_footnotes        = 
| population_est           = 
| blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info               = 37-31620
| blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info              = 2405840<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2405840}}</ref>
}}

The town of '''Hillsborough''' is the [[county seat]] of [[Orange County, North Carolina]], United States, and is located along the [[Eno River]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref> The population was 6,087 in [[2010 United States census|2010]], but it grew rapidly to 9,660 by [[2020 United States census|2020]].<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 29, 2022|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>

Its name was unofficially shortened to "Hillsboro" during the 19th century. In the late 1960s, residents voted to change the name back to its original, historic spelling.

==History==

===Native American history===
Local [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] groups had lived in the Hillsborough area for thousands of years by the time Spanish explorers entered the region.  The Great Indian Trading Path, used by generations of Native Americans, crossed the Eno River in this area. Historic [[Siouan]]-language tribes such as the [[Occaneechi]] and the [[Eno people|Eno]] were living in the Hillsborough area at the time of European contact. The English explorer [[John Lawson (explorer)|John Lawson]] recorded visiting "Occaneechi Town" here when he traveled through North Carolina in 1701. The tribes suffered high losses due to new infectious diseases brought by Europeans and conflicts with [[Iroquois#Iroquois Confederacy|northern Native American groups]]; most of the survivors were eventually pushed out of their territory by British and other European settlers.

English settlers developed Hillsborough near the site of the former Occaneechi village and its [[Ford (crossing)|river fords]]. In the early 18th century, some Occaneechi left Hillsborough for [[Virginia]], though they returned to the area around 1780.<ref name="southern neighbor">{{cite news |title= Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation |work=Southern Neighbor |date=November 2009 }}</ref>

In the 1980s, an archaeological team from [[UNC-Chapel Hill]] excavated a historic Occaneechi farming village in this area.<ref name="southern neighbor"/> A replica of an Occaneechi village was built close to their original site of settlement near the [[Eno River]].<ref name="southern neighbor"/>

===Colonial period and Revolutionary War===

[[Image:PLAN of the Town of HILLSBOROUGH in Orange County NORTH CAROLINA.jpg|right|thumb|A map of the town produced in 1768 by [[Claude J. Sauthier]].]]
[[File:The Wooden Nickel, Hillsborough NC.jpg|thumb|right|Downtown Hillsborough]]
Hillsborough was founded in 1754 and was first owned, surveyed, and mapped by [[William Churton]] (a [[Surveyor (surveying)|surveyor]] for [[John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville|Earl Granville]]). Originally to be named Orange, it was first named Corbin Town (for Francis Corbin, a member of the governor's council and one of Granville's land agents). It was renamed in 1759 as Childsburgh (in honor of Thomas Child, the attorney general for North Carolina from 1751 to 1760 and another of Granville's land agents). It was not until 1766 that it was named Hillsborough, after [[Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire|Wills Hill]], then the [[Earl of Hillsborough]], the [[British Empire|British]] secretary of state for the colonies, and a relative of royal Governor [[William Tryon]].<ref>Holaday, Chris (2002). ''Hillsborough (Images of America)''. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia. {{ISBN|978-0738514604}}</ref>

Hillsborough was an early [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] colonial town where court was held, and was the scene of some pre-[[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] tensions. In the late 1760s, tensions between Piedmont farmers and county officers arose in the [[War of the Regulation|Regulator movement]], which had its strongest support in Hillsborough.<ref name="nc architecture2">{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NccTgQkmPIEC
|publisher=[[UNC Press]]
|year=2005|pages=55–56
|title=North Carolina Architecture |first=Catherine |last=Bishir|isbn=9780807856246
}}</ref>  With specie scarce, many inland farmers found themselves unable to pay their [[taxes]] and resented the consequent seizure of their property.  Local sheriffs sometimes kept taxes for their own gain and sometimes charged twice for the same tax. Heavy-handed and corrupt local officials and Governor [[William Tryon]]'s conspicuous consumption in the construction of [[Tryon Palace|a new governor's mansion]] at [[New Bern]] exacerbated the movement's resentment.

As the western districts were under-represented in the colonial legislature, farmers had difficulty gaining redress from the [[legislature]]. Ultimately, the frustrated farmers took to arms and closed the court in Hillsborough, dragging those they considered corrupt officials through the streets.<ref name="nc architecture2"/>  Tryon and North Carolina [[militia]] troops marched to the region and defeated the Regulators at the [[Battle of Alamance]] in May 1771.<ref name="nc architecture2"/> Several trials were held after the war, resulting in the hanging of six Regulators at Hillsborough on June 19, 1771.

The [[North Carolina Provincial Congress]] met in Hillsborough from August 20 – September 10, 1775, at the outset of the [[American Revolution]]. The [[North Carolina General Assembly]] met here in 1778, 1782, and 1783. The town was also the site of the first North Carolina [[Hillsborough Convention|ratifying convention]], which met July 21 – August 2, 1788, to deliberate and determine whether or not to [[Ratification|ratify]] the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] recommended to the [[U.S. state|states]] by the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] held in [[Philadelphia]] the previous summer. With the hope of effecting the incorporation of a [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] into the frame of government, delegates voted (184–84) to neither ratify nor reject the Constitution. During the [[Anniversary|bicentennial]] celebration of the writing and ratification of the Constitution, a historical marker was placed at the site (now the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church) commemorating the convention.<ref>{{cite web|title=Church History|url=http://www.hillsboroughpres.org/history.php|website=Hillsborough Presbyterian Church|access-date=December 3, 2015|location=Hillsborough, North Carolina}}</ref>

[[William Hooper]], a signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], was buried in the Presbyterian Church cemetery in October 1790. However, his remains were later reinterred at [[Battle of Guilford Court House|Guilford Court House Military Battlefield]]. His original gravestone remains in the town cemetery.

===Antebellum period and American Civil War===
Robert and Margaret Anna (née Robertson) Burwell ran a girl's academy called the [[Burwell School]] from 1837 to 1857 in their home on Churton Street.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

When the Civil War began, Hillsborough residents were reluctant to support secession{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}, but many men went off to fight for the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]. In March 1865, Confederate General [[Joseph E. Johnston]] and his troops wintered just outside Hillsborough at the Alexander Dickson home. In 1982 this house was moved downtown in order to preserve it from commercial development; it now serves as the Hillsborough Welcome Center.

After sweeping through the South on his [[Sherman's March to the Sea|March to the Sea]], Union General [[William T. Sherman]] camped in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]. He 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 halfway near present-day Durham (then Durham Station) at the home of James and Nancy Bennett. This farmhouse is now known as [[Bennett Place]]. The two generals met three times on April 17, 18, and finally on April 26, when they agreed on the final terms of surrender. Johnston surrendered 89,270 Southern troops who were still active in North Carolina, [[South Carolina]], Georgia, and [[Florida]]. This was the largest surrender of troops during the war, and effectively ended the conflict.<ref name="chahillnews">{{cite news|title=Minding the museum |url=http://www.chapelhillnews.com/weekend/story/8656.html |newspaper=Chapel Hill News |date=July 25, 2007 |access-date=July 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929040755/http://www.chapelhillnews.com/weekend/story/8656.html |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Historic sites===
There are numerous historical sites to visit in Hillsborough, including some dating to the late eighteenth century. More than 100 surviving late eighteenth and nineteenth-century structures help illustrate its history of prominence in the early period of the state.

In addition, numerous secondary buildings, bridges, mill sites and dams along the Eno River document the local history. Native American relics have been recovered from the sites of ancient villages thousands of years old.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visithillsboroughnc.com/content/about-hillsborough |title=About Hillsborough &#124; Historic Hillsborough, North Carolina |publisher=Visithillsboroughnc.com |access-date=March 18, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310142454/http://www.visithillsboroughnc.com/content/about-hillsborough |archive-date=March 10, 2015 }}</ref>

====Alexander Dickson House====
The Hillsborough Visitors Center operates from this late-18th century Quaker-plan house. It was moved from its original location {{convert|1|mi|km|abbr=on}} southeast of Hillsborough to its present location in the historic district. The site includes an office used by Confederate Gen. [[Joseph E. Johnston]].

====Old Orange County Courthouse====
The [[Old Orange County Courthouse (North Carolina)|Old Orange County Courthouse]] is an 1844 Greek-revival building designed and built by local builder John Berry. The courthouse is still used for county judicial business. The circa 1760s Hillsborough Clock located atop the town courthouse was once believed to be a gift from King George III, but its origin is currently unknown. It was first placed in the town church, then moved to the Market House. In 1781, David Fanning and the Tories raided the town, seized the bell of the clock, and threw it into the Eno River, but it was fished out by the people at war's end, the clock was fixed, given new weights, and placed in the courthouse where it still works today over 250 years later. It is one of the five oldest functioning tower clocks in the USA today.<ref>{{cite book| chapter=The Old Town Clock | title=Old Time Stories of the Old North State  | date=1903  | pages=134–140}}</ref>

====Ayr Mount====
[[Ayr Mount]] is an 1815 Federal-era plantation house, restored and furnished with period antiques and fine art. The estate includes the {{convert|1|mi|km|abbr=on}}-long Poet's Walk.

====Green Hill====
[[Green Hill (Hillsborough, North Carolina)|Green Hill]] is a Federal-style plantation house. It was built circa 1750-1784 for George Johnston. It was moved in the late 1960s from its original location approximately 12  miles south of Hillsborough.

==== Parks-Richmond House (The Inn at Teardrops) ====
[[File:HILLSBOROUGH HISTORIC DISTRICT, ORANGE COUNTY.jpg|alt=|thumb|The Inn at Teardrops]]
The name comes from the teardrop-shaped glass on the front doors and the molding around the eaves of the house. The property was owned by Edmund Fanning until 1768, when he sold it to Thomas King, an inn keeper.

The main body of the present structure might be King's old inn. Notable eighteenth-century owners include General Thomas Person, Peter Malett, William Duffy, and John Taylor, who was clerk of the Superior Court from 1800 to 1845.

In 1938, the J.W. Richmond family bought the property and renovated the house as a private residence. After additional renovations, Richmond adapted it as 'The Inn at Teardrops', a [[bed and breakfast]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://innatteardrops.com/home/ |title=The Inn at Teardrops - Historic Downtown Hillsborough |date=November 21, 2014 |website= |access-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121114824/http://innatteardrops.com/home/ |archive-date=November 21, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Margaret Lane Cemetery====
Margaret Lane Cemetery, sometimes called the Old Slave Cemetery, first appears in written records in 1885.  It is believed that Peter Brown Ruffin, a landowner and employer to the west of Hillsborough, bought the two {{convert|1|acre|ha|abbr=on|adj=on}} lots that comprise the cemetery from the town in 1854 to use as a burial ground.<!-- Before or after slaves being buried here? -->

====Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail====
[[Occoneechee Speedway]], just outside Hillsborough, was one of the first two [[NASCAR]] tracks to open in 1949. The track was made up of dirt. It is one of two tracks remaining from that inaugural season, [[Martinsville Speedway]] being the other. Today, the site has been preserved as a trail.

The Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail (HOST) is a {{convert|3|mi|km|abbr=on|adj=on}}-trail located on {{convert|44|acre|m2}} at the site of the former Speedway.  [[Bill France, Sr.|Bill France]] and the early founders of NASCAR bought land to build a {{convert|1|mi|km|abbr=on|adj=on}} oval track at Hillsborough, but opposition from local religious leaders prevented the track from being built in the town. Instead, NASCAR officials moved their project to Alabama, where they built the large [[Talladega Superspeedway]] in [[Talladega, Alabama|Talladega]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historichillsborough.org/images/Speedway-Complete.pdf |title=Racing vs. Religion |access-date=July 16, 2007 |publisher=Historic Hillsborough |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008210038/http://www.historichillsborough.org/images/Speedway-Complete.pdf |archive-date=October 8, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Poplar Hill ====
A former house once owned by [[Julian Carr (industrialist)|Julian Carr]] named [[Poplar Hill (Hillsborough, North Carolina)|Poplar Hill]] is located in the town's historic district.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/never-go-back-couple-says-haunted-hillsborough-home-has-hidden-history-2/|title='Never go back' – couple says haunted Hillsborough home has hidden history|date=November 2019}}</ref> It was moved from its original location south of the [[Eno River]] in 1980.

====National Register of Historic Places====
Numerous other properties in Hillsborough are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

They include the [[Bellevue Manufacturing Company]], [[Burwell School]], [[Cabe-Pratt-Harris House]], [[North Carolina Polytechnic Academy|Commandant's House]], [[Eagle Lodge]], [[Eno Cotton Mill]], [[Faucett Mill and House]], [[Hazel-Nash House]], [[Heartsease (Hillsborough, North Carolina)|Heartsease]], [[Holden-Roberts Farm]], [[Jacob Jackson Farm]],<!-- King Street Tavern --> [[Montrose (Hillsborough, North Carolina)|Montrose]], [[Moorefields]], [[Murphey School]], [[Nash Law Office]], [[Nash-Hooper House]], [[Rigsbee's Rock House]], [[Ruffin-Roulhac House]], [[Sans Souci (Hillsborough, North Carolina)|Sans Souci]], [[St. Mary's Chapel (Hillsborough, North Carolina)|St. Mary's Chapel]], and [[St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and Churchyard]]. The [[Hillsborough Historic District]] is also listed on the NRHP.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref><ref name="nps">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/listings/20110909.htm|title=National Register of Historic Places Listings|date=September 9, 2011|work=Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 8/29/11 through 9/02/11|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>

==Geography==
Hillsborough is located along the [[Eno River]]. The town government has constructed the Riverwalk along the river—a paved, accessible, urban greenway that stretches approximately two miles, connecting the trail system in the [[Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area]] to trails on the [[Ayr Mount]] property and the [[Occoneechee Speedway]] trail. The Riverwalk is part of the [[Mountains-to-Sea Trail]].<ref>{{cite web |title=West Hillsborough Sidewalk Connections Project |url=https://www.hillsboroughnc.gov/government/departments-and-divisions/public-space/public-projects/sidewalk-connections-project/ |publisher=Town of Hillsborough |access-date=October 7, 2018}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|4.6|sqmi|km2}}, of which  {{convert|4.6|sqmi|km2}}  is land and 0.22% is water.

The architecture of nearby [[Duke University]] incorporates the stone from the local Hillsborough Quarry. Now sometimes referred to as the Duke Stone,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/uarchives/history/articles/duke-stone|title=Duke Stone|last=amy.mcdonald|date=August 13, 2013|access-date=April 18, 2016|archive-date=March 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324214930/http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/uarchives/history/articles/duke-stone|url-status=dead}}</ref> it is included in the design of almost every building on [[Duke University West Campus]] which was originally designed by architect [[Julian Abele]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dukehillsboroughstone.weebly.com|title=Duke Hillsborough Stone|last=Dowell|first=Maurice|date=April 18, 2016|website=Duke University and the Hillsborough Stone|publisher=weebly.com|access-date=April 18, 2016}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1800= 474
|1850= 582
|1860= 751
|1870= 809
|1880= 781
|1890= 662
|1900= 707
|1910= 857
|1920= 1180
|1930= 1232
|1940= 1311
|1950= 1329
|1960= 1349
|1970= 1444
|1980= 3019
|1990= 4263
|2000= 5446
|2010= 6087
|2020= 9660
|estyear=2021
|estimate=9716
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/hillsboroughtownnorthcarolina,tucumcaricitynewmexico/PST045221|date=May 29, 2022|title=QuickFacts Hillsborough town, North Carolina|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 29, 2022}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=May 29, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2016}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Hillsborough racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US3731620&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 20, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
| 6,076
| 62.9%
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 1,786
| 18.49%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 34
| 0.35%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 216
| 2.24%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
| 2
| 0.02%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
| 559
| 5.79%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
| 988
| 10.23%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 9,660 people, 2,739 households, and 1,668 families residing in the town.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 5,446 people, 2,101 households, and 1,428 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|1,188.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 2,329 housing units at an average density of {{convert|508.3|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 60.26% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 34.83% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.51% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.57% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.62% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.20% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|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 [[Marriage|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.

==Arts and culture==
[[File:Orange County Historical Museum NC.jpg|thumb|Orange County Historical Museum]]

===Art galleries and museums===
* Eno Gallery - Contemporary Fine Art Gallery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.enogallery.net/|title=Eno Gallery : Contemporary Fine Art in the Triangle, located in the heart of historic Hillsborough, NC|website=Enogallery.net}}</ref>
* Hillsborough Gallery of Arts - Artists cooperative gallery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hillsboroughgallery.com/|title=Hillsborough Gallery of Arts - Fine art and fine craft gallery by professional local artists|website=Hillsboroughgallery.com|access-date=September 12, 2022}}</ref>
* Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hillsboroughartscouncil.org/|title=Arts Organization &#124; Hillsborough Arts Council &#124; United States|website=Hillsborough Arts|access-date=September 12, 2022}}</ref>
* Orange County Historical Museum - Chartered in 1956 to preserve and interpret the history of Hillsborough and Orange County.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.orangenchistory.org/|title=Orange NC History-Orange County Historical Museum|website=Orangenchistory.org|access-date=September 12, 2022}}</ref>

Hillsborough is also home to the internationally recognized arts nonprofit organization, the [[Music Maker (label)|Music Maker Relief Foundation]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hunt|first1=Shevonne|title=The Music Makers|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/intothemusic/the-music-maker-foundation/3781348|website=abc.net.au/|date=January 19, 2012|publisher=ABC RN|access-date=April 19, 2018}}</ref>

==Education==
Hillsborough is part of the Orange County School District, which includes River Park Elementary, Efland Cheeks Elementary, Grady A. Brown Elementary, New Hope Elementary, Pathways Elementary, Central Elementary and Hillsborough Elementary Schools (K-5), A.L. Stanback Middle School, Orange Middle School, Gravelly Hill Middle School, [[Cedar Ridge High School (North Carolina)|Cedar Ridge High School]], and [[Orange High School (North Carolina)|Orange High School]]. Hillsborough is also home to [[charter school]]s Eno River Academy (K-12) and The Expedition School (K-8), as well as [[alternative school]] Partnership Academy (9–12). [[Durham Technical Community College]] also has an Orange County campus in Hillsborough.

==Notable people==
For its size, Hillsborough has a high concentration of residents who are nationally known artists and authors, including [[Lee Smith (author)|Lee Smith]], [[Jill McCorkle]], [[Allan Gurganus]], [[Michael Malone (author)|Michael Malone]], [[Annie Dillard]], [[Hal Crowther]], [[Frances Mayes]], and David Payne.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Nimocks|first=Amber|title=A Literary Community|journal=Our State|date=September 2010|url=http://www.ourstate.com/purple-crow-books/|access-date=February 7, 2013}}</ref>

* [[George B. Anderson]] (1831–1862), Civil War Confederate general, killed at the [[Battle of Antietam]]
* [[Thomas Hart Benton (politician)|Thomas Hart Benton]] (1782–1858), U.S. Missouri Senator known as "Old Bullion" was born near Hillsborough. One of the early champions of westward expansion that would become known as Manifest Destiny.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/benton-thomas-hart|title=Benton, Thomas Hart - NCpedia|website=ncpedia.org}}</ref>
* [[Armistead Burwell (judge)|Armistead Burwell]] (1839–1913), associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1892 to 1894
* [[Minerva Ruffin Cain Caldwell]] (1820–1890), First Lady of North Carolina 
* [[Kizzmekia Corbett]] (born 1986), Senior Research Fellow and Scientific Lead on the Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis Team at the [[National Institutes of Health]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsoforange.com/education/article_56790a34-5321-11ea-bc53-27ccd0d1bc35.html|title=She has our back: Vaccine push has local connection|last=Orange|first=Dale Edwards/News of|website=News of Orange|language=en|access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref>
* [[Margaret Mordecai Jones Cruikshank]] (1878–1955), first female president of [[Saint Mary's School (Raleigh, North Carolina)|St. Mary's Junior College]]
* [[Annie Dillard]] (born 1945), author
* [[Allan Gurganus]] (born 1947), author of ''[[Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All]]''
* [[John Dee Holeman]] (1929–2021), Piedmont blues musician<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicmaker.org/artists_profile/John-Dee-Holeman |title=John Dee Holeman |website=Musicmaker.org |access-date=October 22, 2011}}</ref>
* [[William Hooper]] (1742–1790), lawyer and politician who signed the United States Declaration of Independence for North Carolina
* [[Michelle Jin]] (born 1974), professional bodybuilder
* [[Elizabeth Keckley]] (1818–1907), dressmaker and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln and enslaved in the Burwell Household
* [[Michael Malone (author)|Michael Malone]], Edgar Award-winning novelist and [[Daytime Emmy Award]]-winning soap opera writer
* [[Doug Marlette]] (1949–2007), cartoonist and author, maintained a home in Hillsborough and was buried there<ref name="marlette">{{cite news|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/632517.html |title=Cartoonist Doug Marlette dies in wreck |access-date=July 16, 2007 |newspaper=Raleigh News and Observer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713131622/http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/632517.html |archive-date=July 13, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Elizabeth Matheson (photographer)|Elizabeth Matheson]] (born 1942), photographer
* [[Frances Mayes]] (born 1940), author
* [[Logan Pause]] (born 1981), soccer player
* [[Hilda Pinnix-Ragland]], business executive
* [[Connie Ray]] (born 1956), actress
* [[Scott Satterfield]] (born 1972), head football coach at [[University of Cincinnati]]
* [[Lee Smith (fiction author)|Lee Smith]] (born 1944), author
* [[Billy Strayhorn]] (1915–1967), jazz composer, pianist and arranger
* [[Shepperd Strudwick]] (1907–1983), actor
* [[Bryse Wilson]] (born 1997), [[Major League Baseball]] pitcher
* [[Trenton Gill]] (born 1999), NFL punter for the Chicago Bears
* [[Ronnie Warner]] (born 1965), Actor, writer, director, film producer

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Hillsborough, North Carolina}}
* {{official website}}
* [http://www.hillsboroughchamber.com Hillsborough/Orange Chamber of Commerce]

{{Orange County, North Carolina}}
{{Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area}}
{{North Carolina county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Hillsborough, North Carolina| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Orange County, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Towns in North Carolina]]
[[Category:County seats in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1754]]
[[Category:1754 establishments in North Carolina]]