Hilliard dates to 1853, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #809 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Hilliard was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hilliard’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hilliard is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #809 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hilliard’s overall grade.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hilliard’s 1.6 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1853.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Hilliard’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1852, John Reed Hilliard bought 10 acres (40,000 m2) of farmland in western Franklin County, Ohio from Hoseah High and Abraham Wendell. Geographically, the Hilliard area is between Big Darby Creek on the west and the Scioto River on the east. Originally called Hilliard's Station, the town grew around the railroad route of the Piqua and Indiana Railroad station, which bisected the former Hilliard farmland. Hilliard's Station served as an ideal shipping point for agricultural products going to market and supplies coming to the farmers in the area. The original Hilliard area was platted by John Hilliard on September 1, 1853.
Passages that mention Hilliard, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio1909 · page 432Read the page →
Read the text
No village existed in the township until toward the end of the year 1853, when the village of Hilliard was laid out by John R. Hilliard. The Columbus, Piqua and Indiana railroad now a part of the great Pennsylvania system was then built and Hilliards station thereon was established in the village. Five years after its establishment, Hilliards was described as ''quite a small village of probably a dozen families, two grocery stores and a postoffice." In 1908, after a lapse of half a century it is a more pretentious and business like place — a pretty rural village in a beautiful section of the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Franklin County [Ohio]1858 · page 243Read the page →
Read the text
that township, and so remained until 1813. There never was any village in this township until after the Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroad was estalished, and then the village of Hilliard was laid out in the fall of 1853, by John R. Hilliard. The place is generally known as " Hilliard's Station." It is quite a small village of probably a dozen families, two grocery stores, and a post office. The first post office in this township
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio ..1901 · page 965Read the page →
Read the text
township November 19. 1869, and there grew to manhood, being educated in its common schools. At the age of eighteen he became a telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and after serving as extra man for two years accepted the position of operator at Hilliard. When the company moved their office to Hayden he went with them, but at the end of six snonths resigned his position and returned to Hilliard, where he embarked in general merchandising in partnership wdth his father, J. E. Winterringer. He has since been actively identified with the business interests of this place.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Hilliard, 1853 to 1987
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1853, according to Wikidata. Hilliard’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1870 counted 282 people here.
How does Hilliard rank for history?
Hilliard is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #809 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Hilliard?
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the E. Boles Cottage (listed 1979, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hilliard?
3% of Hilliard’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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