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HillsboroIowaWelcomSignPhoto: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Hillsboro

Hillsboro dates to 1840, and 60% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1981 on and the census since 1880.

1840founded
0on the National Register
60%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Hillsboro began

When was Hillsboro founded?

1840

Hillsboro dates its founding to 1840 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 154 in 18802020 census: 163186 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1844.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.Old housesHalf of Hillsboro’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 318 in 1920; 163 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1840: 186 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
The story

How Hillsboro came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hillsboro.

Read it all →

Hillsboro (or Hillsborough) was originally called Washington, but the name was changed when it was discovered there was already a community called Washington in Iowa. Hillsboro was laid out in 1840.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Hillsboro, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 318

Peaked at 318 in 1920; 163 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Hillsboro, 1840 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840
    FoundingHillsboro is established
  3. 1844Post officeThe Hillsboro post office opens
  4. 1857Born hereWilliam S. Allen is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 318
  7. 1981On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hillsboro, decade by decade

Today4 recent
HillsboroIowaWelcomSign2024HillsboroIowaWelcomSignHillsboroIowaChurch2024HillsboroIowaChurchHillsboroIowaPopPlot2021HillsboroIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Hillsboro2004IAMap-doton-Hillsboro
On the map

Hillsboro on the map in 1981

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hillsboro.

Hillsboro on the 1981 USGS map1981Hillsboro 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

Places now gone

Hillsboro’s post office has been open since 1844.

Gone or out of use
Hillsborolocale

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?

In 1840, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hillsboro’s post office opened in 1844, and the census of 1880 counted 154 people here.

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 (4), 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.