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Traill County CourthousePhoto: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
History · Hillsboro Township

Hillsboro Township dates to 1880, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1890.

1880founded
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hillsboro Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hillsboro Township began

When was Hillsboro Township founded?

1880

Hillsboro Township dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 715 in 18902020 census: 114146 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hillsboro Township’s past

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

A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1892–1940.On the map since 19184 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1984. Watch Hillsboro Township change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Hillsboro Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
Illustrated historical atlas of Traill and Steele counties, North Dakota1892Illustrated historical atlas of Traill and Steele cou…MapIllustrated historical atlas of Traill and Steele counties, North Dakota1892Illustrated historical atlas of Traill and Steele cou…Map
1900s–1930snothing 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
1940s10 items
Putting up storm windows. Hillsboro, North Dakota1940Putting up storm windows. Hillsboro, North DakotaPutting up storm windows. Hillsboro, North Dakota1940Putting up storm windows. Hillsboro, North DakotaGetting meats out of cold storage locker. Hillsboro, North Dakota1940Getting meats out of cold storage locker. Hillsboro, …Farmer getting berries out of cold storage locker. Hillsboro, North Dakota1940Farmer getting berries out of cold storage locker. Hi…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Putting up storm windows. Hillsboro, North Dakota1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Putting up storm…Farmer with arms full of food from cold storage locker. Hillsboro, North Dakota1940Farmer with arms full of food from cold storage locke…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Getting meats out of cold storage locker. Hillsboro, North Dakota1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Getting meats ou…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Getting meats out of cold storage locker. Hillsboro, North Dakota1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Getting meats ou…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Getting meats out of cold storage locker. Hillsboro, North Dakota1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Getting meats ou…Putting cuts of meat in freezing room. When they are frozen they will be stored in farmers' individual lockers. Hillsbo…1940Putting cuts of meat in freezing room. When they are …
1950s–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
Today5 recent
Hillsboro, North Dakota2007Hillsboro, North DakotaHillsboro, North Dakota2007Hillsboro, North DakotaHillsboro, North Dakota (2007)2007Hillsboro, North Dakota (2007)Hillsboro, North Dakota2006Hillsboro, North DakotaHillsboro, North Dakota2006Hillsboro, North Dakota
On the map

Hillsboro Township on the map, 1918 to 1984

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

Hillsboro Township on the 1918 USGS mapHillsboro Township on the 1943 USGS mapHillsboro Township on the 1963 USGS mapHillsboro Township on the 1984 USGS map1918Kelso 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 Hillsboro Township.

The story

How Hillsboro Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hillsboro Township.

Read it all →

The area along the Goose River that is now Hillsboro was first settled by German and Norwegian settlers around 1870. In 1880, the present day site of Hillsboro was founded under the name "Comstock". Local folklore tells of the residents of nearby Caledonia, North Dakota turning away a shabby surveyor because of his appearance. This man was then offered hospitality by residents in the tiny settlement of Comstock. The man turned out to be railroad baron James J. Hill.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hillsboro Township, 1880 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880
    FoundingHillsboro Township is established
  3. 1892In the archiveIllustrated historical atlas of Traill and Steele counties, North Dakota
  4. 20th century
  5. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1940In the archivePutting up storm windows. Hillsboro, North Dakota
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.

Putting up storm windows. Hillsboro, North Dakota
Retake this viewPutting up storm windows. Hillsboro, North Dakota, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Hillsboro Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80019001920194019601980200020201,649

Grew from 715 people in 1890 to 1,649 in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Alton

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

Help out

Finish Hillsboro Township’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPutting up storm windows. Hillsboro, No…: 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.

Hillsboro2 historic placesB+Eldorado TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBloomfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKelso TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHerberg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hillsboro Township’s history

What year was Hillsboro Township founded?

In 1880, according to Wikidata. the census of 1890 counted 715 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 (7), the Library of Congress (10), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, 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.