City of Hillsboro

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the City of Hillsboro. Now settle in, because this is a town that didn't just grow, it kept on growin'. The year was 1853, and the Texas Legislature took a good long look at Navarro County and decided it could stand to be a little smaller.

So they carved out a brand new Hill County, named for Dr. George Washington Hill, a physician who had served as Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas. That's some pedigree right there for a county that was just getting started.

Now, Anglo settlers had only recently begun arriving in the area, drawn in part by the establishment of Fort Graham back in 1848. The county commissioners had to decide where to plant the seat of government, and they chose a spot they called Hillsborough, though the spelling would shorten up over time to Hillsboro. Three men made that possible by donating the very land the town would stand on: Thomas Steiner, John Caruthers, and Jonathan Newby.

Pretty generous fellas, when you think about it. The community didn't waste any time. A school went up, a post office opened, and a wood-frame courthouse gave the place an official feel.

But what really got Hillsboro's blood pumping was cotton. Cotton became the mainstay of the town's late nineteenth-century economy, and when the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad and other lines rolled into town in the early 1880s, well, that's when things really started humming. New settlers came pouring in.

Shipping became possible. Jobs multiplied. The city incorporated in 1881, right there in the thick of all that momentum.

Then came the building boom. Between 1890 and 1910, the cotton industry was producing enough prosperity that Hillsboro started putting up Queen Anne homes, fine and proud, many of which are still standing today. And in 1890, they built the Hill County Courthouse, which the marker calls noted, and that word is well earned.

In 1923, the community established the Hillsboro Junior College, an institution that has grown over the years into what is now known as Hill College. Education taking root, just like everything else in this town. And speaking of roots, Hillsboro has sent some remarkable people into Texas public life.

U.S. Congressman Joseph Abbott came from here. So did Texas Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock.

And the marker doesn't stop there: Thomas Slater Smith, Robert Lee Bobbitt, Robert W. Calvert, Crawford C. Martin, Nelson Phillips, and Sam Johnson.

That is a list that could fill a statehouse hall. In 1981, Hillsboro was named one of the Texas Historical Commission's five original Texas Main Street Cities. Five original cities in the whole state, and Hillsboro was one of them.

From a donated patch of land and a wood-frame courthouse to a college, a celebrated courthouse, a stretch of Queen Anne homes, and a roster of leaders that would make any town proud. Hillsboro didn't just find its footing in Hill County. It built something worth coming back to.

What the marker says

In 1853, the Texas Legislature carved Hill County out of Navarro County. Named for physician and Republic of Texas Secretary of War Dr. George Washington Hill, the new county had only recently attracted Anglo settlement, following the establishment in 1848 of Fort Graham. County commissioners selected Hillsboro, originally spelled Hillsborough, as county seat. They established the town on land donated by Thomas Steiner, John Caruthers and Jonathan Newby, and the community soon had a school and post office, as well as a wood-frame courthouse. Cotton became the mainstay of Hillsboro's late 19th-century economy. The city experienced rapid growth after the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad and other lines came to the town in the early 1880s. In addition to bringing new settlers and giving access to shipping and transportation, railroads provided many new jobs. The city continued to grow and incorporated in 1881. The cotton industry produced a building boom between 1890 and 1910, as evidenced by the numerous Queen Anne homes still intact today, as well as the noted 1890 Hill County Courthouse. In 1923, the community established the Hillsboro Junior College, which over the years has become Hill College. Many Texas political leaders have come from Hillsboro, including U.S. Congressman Joseph Abbott and Texas Lt. Governor Bob Bullock, as well as Thomas Slater Smith, Robert Lee Bobbitt, Robert W. Calvert, Crawford C. Martin, Nelson Phillips and Sam Johnson. In 1981, Hillsboro became one of the Texas Historical Commission's five original Texas Main Street Cities. The growing city continues to provide leadership, as well as natural, cultural and educational resources. (2004)