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History · Hillsboro

Hillsboro dates to 1877, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

9 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1893 on.

1877founded
9on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hillsboro’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hillsboro began

When was Hillsboro founded?

1877

Hillsboro dates its founding to 1877 (Wikipedia’s history).

2020 census: 140149 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.

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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.
★ 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.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewTown of Hillsboro: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

9 historic places in Hillsboro

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

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Hillsboro High School
Hillsboro High SchoolGeorge Tambling and Ninette Stocker Miller HouseJohn M. Webster House, built 1893Will M. Robins HousePercha Creek Bridge, built 1927Alert-Hatcher Building, built 1884Cornelius Sullivan House, built 1893Meyers House, built 1902William H. Bucher House
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian Vernacular4
New Mexico Vernacular3
Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival1
Steel Deck Truss1
Hillsboro High SchoolMission/Spanish Colonial Revival
George Tambling and Ninette Stocker Miller HouseLate Victorian Vernacular
John M. Webster HouseLate Victorian Vernacular · Built 1893
Will M. Robins HouseLate Victorian Vernacular
Percha Creek BridgeSteel Deck Truss · Built 1927
All 9 listings
Alert-Hatcher BuildingBuilding · listed 1995Cornelius Sullivan HouseBuilding · listed 1995Meyers HouseBuilding · listed 1995William H. Bucher HouseBuilding · listed 1995

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

The story so far

Hillsboro, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hillsboro yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hillsboro is an unincorporated community in Sierra County, New Mexico, United States, located in the southwestern part of the state. It was founded in 1877, following the discovery of gold. The community was the county seat of Sierra County from 1884 until 1936, when Hot Springs (now called Truth or Consequences) became the county seat. As of the 2020 census, Hillsboro had a population of 140. The town was named Hillsborough by prospectors in December 1877, but later shortened to Hillsboro. By 1880, the town had four companies of soldiers and 400 miners, but the population soon grew to 700. A county courthouse was built in 1892. By 1907, the population was 1200. A flood on 10 June 1914 caus…

Hillsboro was established in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 124 to 140 (+13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hillsboro, 1877 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877
    FoundingHillsboro is established
  3. 1884BuiltAlert-Hatcher Building is built
  4. 1893BuiltJohn M. Webster House is built
  5. 1893BuiltCornelius Sullivan House is built
  6. 20th century
  7. 1927BuiltPercha Creek Bridge is built
  8. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hillsboro, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Town of HillsboroDate?Town of Hillsboro
Today6 recent
The small Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church2021The small Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic ChurchA "forever" line of power poles near Hillsboro in Sierra County, New Mexico2021A "forever" line of power poles near Hillsboro in Sie…Geronimo Trail National Scenic Byway Marker2017Geronimo Trail National Scenic Byway MarkerJune 10 Community Meeting2013June 10 Community MeetingJune 10 Community Meeting2013June 10 Community MeetingJune 10 Community Meeting2013June 10 Community Meeting
On the map

Hillsboro on the map, 1935 to 1996

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 1935 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1940 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1985 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1996 USGS map1935Hillsboro 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.

Every building

Hillsboro, building by building, 1893–1898

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Hillsboro fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Town of Hillsboro
Retake this viewTown of Hillsboro

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Hillsboro

Nobody well known was born in Hillsboro itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
F
Freddie BrownAmerican songwriter · b. 1940
M
Marty MartinAmerican politician · b. 1951
M
Murray RyanAmerican politician · b. 1922

Questions about Hillsboro’s history

What year was Hillsboro founded?

In 1877, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town.

What is on the National Register in Hillsboro?

9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Hillsboro High School (listed 1993, the first), and 1 structure. 12 historic buildings in all.

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), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (9), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.