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History · Hillsboro

Hillsboro was first counted by the census in 1880, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Pearl Buck House. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
1on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hillsboro’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hillsboro began

When was Hillsboro founded?

1880

Hillsboro first appears in the census in 1880. Another post office, Academy (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 99 in 18802020 census: 232146 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hillsboro’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 339 in 1900; 232 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1902–1933.On the map since 19233 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1995. Watch Hillsboro change.Old housesHalf of Hillsboro’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · People over time

Hillsboro, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 339

Peaked at 339 in 1900; 232 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

By decade

Hillsboro, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s5 items
Rev. Guy H. Crook1902Rev. Guy H. CrookEarl Kidd, one of the 4 H Club boys with his registered calf. Hillsboro, Pocahontas Co. W. Va. LOC nclc.044311921Earl Kidd, one of the 4 H Club boys with his register…Earl Kidd, one of the 4 H Club boys with his registered calf. Hillsboro, Pocahontas Co. W. Va. Location: Pocahontas Cou…1921Earl Kidd, one of the 4 H Club boys with his register…Harry Harper, one of the 4 H Club boys with his registered calf. Location: Pocahontas County--Hillsboro, West Virginia1921Harry Harper, one of the 4 H Club boys with his regis…11 boys and 2 girls192111 boys and 2 girls
1930s7 items
HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 1 of 11) - Stulting Place, U.S. Route 2191933HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 1 of 11) - Stulting Pla…HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 10 of 11) - Stulting Place, U.S. Route 2191933HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 10 of 11) - Stulting Pl…HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 11 of 11) - Stulting Place, U.S. Route 2191933HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 11 of 11) - Stulting Pl…HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 2 of 11) - Stulting Place, U.S. Route 2191933HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 2 of 11) - Stulting Pla…HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 3 of 11) - Stulting Place, U.S. Route 2191933HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 3 of 11) - Stulting Pla…HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 4 of 11) - Stulting Place, U.S. Route 2191933HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 4 of 11) - Stulting Pla…HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 5 of 11) - Stulting Place, U.S. Route 2191933HABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 5 of 11) - Stulting Pla…
1940s–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
On the map

Hillsboro on the map, 1923 to 1995

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 1923 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1977 USGS mapHillsboro on the 1995 USGS map1923Marlinton 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.

The story

How Hillsboro came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hillsboro.

Read it all →

Hillsboro was named for pioneer John (Richard) Hill, from North Carolina, who built a log cabin near what is now Lobelia. Most of the early settlers were Scots-Irish and worked in agriculture and stock raising.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hillsboro, 1852 to 1933

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Academy post office opens
  3. 1892Born herePearl S. Buck is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 339
  6. 1902In the archiveRev. Guy H. Crook
  7. 1914Post officeThe Academy post office closes
  8. 1914Post officeThe Hillsboro post office opens
  9. 1921In the archiveEarl Kidd, one of the 4 H Club boys with his registered calf. Hillsboro, Pocahontas Co. W…
  10. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1933In the archiveHABS WVA,38-HILBO.V,1- (sheet 1 of 11) - Stulting Place, U.S. Route 219
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.

Rev. Guy H. Crook
Retake this viewRev. Guy H. Crook, 1902

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
On the National Register

1 historic place in Hillsboro

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Pearl Buck House
Pearl Buck House
Buildings
Pearl Buck HouseBuilding

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Hillsboro’s post office has been open since 1914. Another post office, Academy, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Academy
1852–1914
Hillsboro
1914–today
18501940today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Hillsboro’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRev. Guy H. Crook: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Hillsboro’s history

What year was Hillsboro founded?

The Hillsboro post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Hillsboro?

One place: the Pearl Buck House (listed 1970).

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 (9), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.