Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Hillsboro was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listing is the Hillsboro Methodist Church and Cemetery.
The Hillsboro post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hillsboro’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereThomas Monroe Henry is born here
Born herePaul B. Johnson, Sr. is born hereFrom Wikipedia’s history of Hillsboro.
Hillsboro is named for its location on a hill above the surrounding area. The community was formed in 1835 and was the county seat of Scott County from 1836 to 1856. Hillsboro formerly had a newspaper, The Argus.
In 1900 Hillsboro had a population of 112, two churches, and four stores.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Hillsboro’s post office has been open since 1837.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Hillsboro post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Hillsboro Methodist Church and Cemetery (listed 2017).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.