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Hillsboro-TN127-US41-tn1Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0
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History · Hillsboro

Hillsboro’s post office opened in 1821

Most of Hillsboro was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1936 on.

1821first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Hillsboro began

When was Hillsboro founded?

1821

The Hillsboro post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 433205 years
Founding year: the first Hillsboro post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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 writtenNo old photos of Hillsboro are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1821: 205 years of Hillsboro.
★ 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.
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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 Coffee County, Tennessee, United States, that was treated as a census-designated place for the 2010 U.S. census. The population was 450 as of the 2010 census. The community is concentrated around the intersection of U.S. Route 41 and Tennessee State Route 127, between Manchester to the northwest and Monteagle to the southeast. The Cumberland Plateau rises to the east, and Arnold Air Force Base lies to the west.

Its first post office opened in 1821. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 450 to 433 (-4%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Hillsboro on the map, 1936 to 1983

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 1936 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1953 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1974 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1983 USGS map1936Hillsboro sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hillsboro.

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 →
Dinah ShoreAmerican singer and actress · b. 1916
J
John TempletonAmerican-born British stock investor, businessm… · b. 1912
Dustin LynchAmerican singer · b. 1985
Jimmy ClevelandAmerican jazz trombonist · b. 1926
S
Samuel C. LindRadiation chemist · b. 1879
T
Tom BoltonAmerican astronomer · b. 1943

Questions about Hillsboro’s history

What year was Hillsboro founded?

The Hillsboro post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.