Hillsborough, North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hillsborough, North Carolina
The Eno River at Hillsborough
The Eno River at Hillsborough
Location of Hillsborough, North Carolina
Location of Hillsborough, North Carolina
Coordinates: 36°04′14″N 79°06′15″W / 36.07056, -79.10417
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Orange
Area
 - Total 4.6 sq mi (11.9 km²)
 - Land 4.6 sq mi (11.9 km²)
Population (2000)
 - Total 5,446
 - Density 1,188.7/sq mi (459.1/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 27278
Area code(s) 919
Website: Official website of Hillsborough, NC

Hillsborough is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Orange County.[1]

Its name was unofficially shortened to "Hillsboro" over the years (beginning in the 19th century) but was changed back to its original spelling in the late 1960s.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Native-American history

Local Native-American groups had lived in the Hillsborough area for thousands of years by the time European-American settlers discovered the area. Groups such as the Siouan, Occaneechi, and the Enos were some of the last Indians living in the Hillsborough area before they were displaced, with John Lawson's "Occaneechi Town" perhaps being visited in the area when he travelled through North Carolina in 1701. There are still remnants of these groups of people living in the area, mainly the Occaneechi-Saponis.

[edit] Colonial times and Revolutionary War

Hillsborough was founded in 1754, and was first owned, surveyed, and mapped by William Churton (a surveyor for Earl Granville). Originally to be named Orange, it was named Corbin Town (for Francis Corbin, a member of the governor's council and one of Granville's land agents), and renamed Childsburgh (in honor of Thomas Child, the attorney general for North Carolina from 1751-1760 and another one of Granville's land agents) in 1759. It was not until 1766 that it was named Hillsborough, after the Earl of Hillsborough, the British secretary of state for the colonies and a relative of royal Governor Tryon's.

The Earl of Hillsborough
The Earl of Hillsborough

It was an earlier Piedmont colonial town where court was held, and was the scene of some pre-Revolutionary War tensions (such as during the Regulator uprising). The North Carolina Regulators fought against laws they believed to be unfair that were set by local North Carolina officials.

The town was used as the home of the North Carolina state legislature during the American Revolution.[2]. Hillsborough was used as a base by British General Charles Cornwallis in late February 1781.

An early map of the town produced in 1768 by Claude Joseph Sauthier.
An early map of the town produced in 1768 by Claude Joseph Sauthier.

[edit] Civil War era

The Burwell family ran a girl's academy called the Burwell School from 1837 to 1857 in their home on Churton Street. Elizabeth Keckley was enslaved in the Burwell household as a teenager. She later became the dressmaker and confidant of Mary Todd Lincoln and wrote a memoir.

In 1864/1865, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston wintered just outside of Hillsborough. After his March to the Sea, while camped in Raleigh, Union General William T. Sherman offered an armistice to Johnston, who agreed to meet to discuss terms of surrender. Johnston, traveling east from Hillsborough and Sherman, traveling west from Raleigh along the Hillsborough-Raleigh Road, met approximately half-way near present-day Durham at a farmhouse now known as Bennett Place; they met three times between April 17, 18th and 26th, before they agreed on surrender terms. Johnston surrendered 90,000 Southern troops to Sherman, the largest surrender of troops during the war; this effectively ended the Civil War.[2]

[edit] Auto racing

Occoneechee Speedway, just outside Hillsborough, was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open and is the only track remaining from that inaugural 1949 season. Bill France and the early founders of NASCAR bought land to build a one-mile oval track at Hillsborough, but opposition from local religious leaders prevented the track from being built in the town and NASCAR officials built the large speedway Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama instead.[3]

[edit] Geography

Hillsborough is located at 36°4′29″N, 79°6′15″W (36.074794, -79.104183),[4] along the Eno River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²), of which, 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²) of it is land and 0.22% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 5,446 people, 2,101 households, and 1,428 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,188.7 people per square mile (459.1/km²). There were 2,329 housing units at an average density of 508.3/sq mi (196.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 60.26% White, 34.83% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 1.62% from other races, and 2.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.

There were 2,101 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 20.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,111, and the median income for a family was $46,793. Males had a median income of $36,636 versus $29,052 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,818. About 11.0% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable Hillsboroughans

[edit] References

  1. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ a b "Minding the museum", Chapel Hill News, July 25, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-30. 
  3. ^ Racing vs. Religion. Historic Hillsborough. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  4. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ Cartoonist Doug Marlette dies in wreck. Raleigh News and Observer. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.

[edit] External links

[edit] Hillsborough History


v • d • e
Municipalities and communities of
Orange County, North Carolina
County seat: Hillsborough
City
Towns

Carrboro | Chapel Hill | Hillsborough
CDP
Unincorporated
communities