Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Hillsboro

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Hillsboro

Hillsboro’s post office opened in 1837

Most of Hillsboro was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1880.

1837first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Hillsboro began

When was Hillsboro founded?

1837

The Hillsboro post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 218 in 18802020 census: 407189 years
Founding year: the first Hillsboro post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hillsboro’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hillsboro are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 608 in 2000; 407 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Hillsboro.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hillsboro’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hillsboro’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Hillsboro, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 608

Peaked at 608 in 2000; 407 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hillsboro’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Hillsboro, 1837 to 2000

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Hillsboro post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1936Born hereRudolph M. Clay is born here
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 21st century
  7. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 608
The story

How Hillsboro came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hillsboro.

Read it all →

Hillsboro began in the late 1830s as a small community known as "Gilmersville," which was located east of the current town. The name was inspired by a family of early settlers. When the railroad was constructed through the area in the 1860s, the town shifted to its current location along the tracks. The town developed throughout the latter half of the 19th century as an important refueling stop for trains and a local shipping center. The town's name was eventually changed to "Hillsborough," and the current spelling was adopted in 1891.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Hillsboro, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Hillsboro-post-office-al2017Hillsboro-post-office-alHillsboro-businesses-al2017Hillsboro-businesses-alHillsboro-Town-Hall-al2017Hillsboro-Town-Hall-alHillsboro-RR-tracks-farms-al2017Hillsboro-RR-tracks-farms-alHillsboro-RR-tracks-al2017Hillsboro-RR-tracks-al
On the map

Hillsboro on the map, 1936 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hillsboro. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Hillsboro on the 1936 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1948 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1951 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1974 USGS map1936Hillsboro sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hillsboro.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Hillsboro’s post office has been open since 1837.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Reynolds
1cemetery inside Hillsboro
Reynolds

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Hillsboro’s history

What year was Hillsboro founded?

The Hillsboro post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.