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C+History
History · Hillsborough

Hillsborough was first counted by the census in 1920, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #208 of 847 in California. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Carolands, The, the Arthur and Mona Hofmann House and the Newhall Estate. Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1920.

1920first census
3on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
23old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hillsborough’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hillsborough began

When was Hillsborough founded?

1920

Hillsborough first appears in the census in 1920.

First census: 931 in 19202020 census: 11,387106 years

How historic is Hillsborough?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hillsborough’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hillsborough is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #208 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hillsborough’s overall grade.
Founding era1920, from the first census: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194011.4% of homes (±3.0) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 2.7 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 76%

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hillsborough’s 2.7 sits above most of its state (83% of California towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points).

Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Hillsborough’s past

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

A town in old photos23 old photos, postcards and papers, 1915–1938.On the map since 18968 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1993. Watch Hillsborough change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Hillsborough, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s22 items
"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road1915"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Reding…"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplands Drive1917"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplan…"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplands Drive1917"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplan…"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplands Drive1917"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplan…"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road1917"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Reding…"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Manor Drive1917"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Ma…["Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road1917["Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redin…"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Manor Drive1917"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Ma…"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Manor Drive1917"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Ma…"New Place," William Henry Crocker house, 80 New Place Road1917"New Place," William Henry Crocker house, 80 New Plac…"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road1917"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Reding…"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road1917"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Reding…"New Place," William Henry Crocker house, 80 New Place Road1917"New Place," William Henry Crocker house, 80 New Plac…"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road1917"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Reding…"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplands Drive1917"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplan…"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Manor Drive1917"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Ma…"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Manor Drive1917"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Ma…"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Manor Drive1917"Newmar," Senator George Almer Newhall house, 1761 Ma…"New Place," William Henry Crocker house, 80 New Place Road1917"New Place," William Henry Crocker house, 80 New Plac…"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplands Drive1917"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplan…"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplands Drive1917"Uplands," Charles Templeton Crocker house, 400 Uplan…"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road1917"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Reding…
1930s1 item
San Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Carlos, Belmont Map 19381938San Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Carlos, Belm…Map
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Straße im Tobin Clark Estate2023Straße im Tobin Clark EstateHillsborough Heights, Burlingame, United States (Unsplash)2015Hillsborough Heights, Burlingame, United States (Unsp…San Mateo County, CA, USA - panoramio (5)2012San Mateo County, CA, USA - panoramio (5)Wwwj20090816-roos-family2009Wwwj20090816-roos-family
On the map

Hillsborough on the map, 1896 to 1993

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

Hillsborough on the 1896 USGS mapHillsborough on the 1915 USGS mapHillsborough on the 1939 USGS mapHillsborough on the 1949 USGS mapHillsborough on the 1956 USGS mapHillsborough on the 1968 USGS mapHillsborough on the 1980 USGS mapHillsborough on the 1993 USGS map1896San Mateo sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story

How Hillsborough came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hillsborough.

Read it all →

Hillsborough is located on the Rancho San Mateo Mexican land grant which was purchased by William Davis Merry Howard, son of a wealthy Hillsborough, New Hampshire, shipping magnate, in 1846. Howard settled his family in this area, which attracted wealthy San Franciscans. On May 5, 1910, Hillsborough residents voted to incorporate. From the town's foundation until 1963, it was an exclusive community for wealthy whites. In 1963, Jack and Betty Ken, the first-generation children of Chinese Immigrants, purchased land in the town. This made them the first non-white people to own land in the town, effectively desegregating Hillsborough.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hillsborough, 1896 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1915In the archive"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road
  5. 1916BuiltCarolands, The is built
  6. 1938In the archiveSan Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Carlos, Belmont Map 1938
  7. 1961Born hereNathaniel Crosby is born here
  8. 1987Born hereErik Kislik is born here
  9. 1992Born hereTyler Goeddel is born here
  10. 1994Born hereMatt Krook is born here
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road
Retake this view"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant house, 2260 Redington Road, 1915

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hillsborough’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Hillsborough

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Carolands, The
Carolands, The, built 1916Arthur and Mona Hofmann HouseNewhall Estate
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

French Classical1
Modern Movement: International Style1
Beaux Arts1
Beaux Arts Classicism1
Carolands, TheFrench Classical · Built 1916
Arthur and Mona Hofmann HouseModern Movement: International Style
Newhall EstateBeaux Arts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Hillsborough, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00019201940196019802000202011,387

Grew from 931 people in 1920 to 11,387 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Hillsborough

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Nathaniel CrosbyProfessional golfer · b. 1961
Tyler GoeddelBaseball player · b. 1992
Erik KislikAmerican chess player · b. 1987
Matt KrookAmerican baseball player · b. 1994
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hillsborough Park

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Hillsborough’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view"Villa Rose," Joseph Donahoe Grant hous…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Burlingame4 historic placesA−San Mateo7 historic placesBBaywood ParkIts storyD−Highlands1 historic placeC

Questions about Hillsborough’s history

What year was Hillsborough founded?

The Hillsborough post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hillsborough rank for history?

Hillsborough is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #208 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Hillsborough?

Three places: the Carolands, The (listed 1975), the Arthur and Mona Hofmann House (1991) and the Newhall Estate (2007).

How old are the homes in Hillsborough?

11% of Hillsborough’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1970.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (22), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.