Hillsboro dates to 1841, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #42 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Hillsboro was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hillsboro’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hillsboro is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #42 of 142 in Oregon. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hillsboro’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Hillsboro ranks #221 on History.
Oregon towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oregon town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hillsboro’s 2.3 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Hillsboro’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1841.
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 Hillsboro’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The European-American community was founded by David Hill, Isaiah Kelsey, and Richard Williams, who arrived in the Tualatin Valley in 1841, followed by six more pioneers in 1842. The locality went by two other names—East Tualatin Plains and Columbia—before it was named "Hillsborough" in February 1850 in honor of Hill, when he sold part of his land claim to the county. On February 5, 1850, commissioners chosen by the territorial legislature selected the community to be the seat of the county government. Hill was to be paid $200 for his land after plots had been sold for the town site, but he died before this occurred, and his widow Lucinda received the funds. The town's name was later simplified to Hillsboro. A log cabin was built in 1853 to serve as the community's first school, which opened in October 1854. Riverboats provided transportation to Hillsboro as early as 1867 when the side-…
In 1841, according to Wikidata. Hillsboro’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 402 people here.
How does Hillsboro rank for history?
Hillsboro is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #42 of 142 in Oregon. 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 Hillsboro?
10 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Imbrie Farm (listed 1977, the first). 25 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hillsboro?
3% of Hillsboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon 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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (9), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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 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.
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2017
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