Do You Need Stump Grinding Service in Hillsborough, NC?

The town of Hillsborough is the county seat of Orange County, North Carolina, United States, and is located along the Eno River. The population was 6,087 in 2010, but it grew rapidly to 9,660 by 2020. Its name was unofficially shortened to "Hillsboro" during the 19th century.

Hillsborough is a small town with a big history. The downtown historic district:

Is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Features more than 100 homes, churches and buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Today, Hillsborough is a haven for artists and writers.

The town is centrally located in North Carolina, with fast access to cities in the Triad and Triangle regions. Interstate 85 runs through the town, and Interstate 40 is just outside town limits.

Hillsborough is built on the site of three successive Native American villages, which stood from about 1000 to 1710 CE. Orange County was founded in 1752.

In 1754 — The town of Orange was laid out by William Churton on land where the Great Indian Trading Path crossed the Eno River.

In 1766 — Hillsborough was renamed after Irish peer William Hill, earl of Hillsborough and secretary of state for the colonies from 1768 to 1772.

Politically and Culturally Active

The town was a center of political and cultural activity during the 18th and 19th centuries. Several governors lived in town, as did a signer of the Declaration of Independence, William Hooper, whose house still stands. The state’s Constitutional Convention and five sessions of the General Assembly were held here between 1778 and 1784.

The Alexander Dickson house, now the town's visitors center, served as Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's headquarters when he surrendered the largest of the Confederate armies to Gen. William T. Sherman at the end of the Civil War.

For more than thirty years, the Hillsborough Arts Council (HAC) has been developing and providing arts events, programs, and educational opportunities for the people of Hillsborough and surrounding communities. HAC is committed to providing access to the arts for educational enrichment, community development, and economic prosperity.

HAC is proud to partner with the Town of Hillsborough, The Hillsborough Tourism Board, The Hillsborough Tourism Development Authority, The Orange County Arts Commission, the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, and many others to create a rich arts community in Hillsborough, NC.

About Visitors Center

The Visitors Center is the primary resource for information on local attractions. There is also a gift shop, a folk art gallery, and a video on historic Hillsborough for public viewing. In addition, the Visitors Center is located in the Historic Alexander Dickson House, one of the most historically significant buildings in town.

The Dickson House, a late-18th century Quaker plan house, is considered “The Last Confederate Headquarter” as it was where Joseph E. Johnston housed in 1865 as he planned the largest troop surrender of the Civil War. The house was moved from its original location to its present location in the early 1980s when it was threatened by retail development. The site also includes an outbuilding, probably used as General Johnston’s office and a 19th century medicinal and culinary, and herb garden.

Plantation house & national historic landmark offering tours of the restored 19th-century home.

A Piedmont Showpiece

When Ayr Mount was built in 1815, it was like nothing around for miles: a grand brick house in the North Carolina Piedmont that cut a startling figure in a region dominated by modest wooden dwellings. Built for William and Margaret Kirkland and their large family, its construction began following William’s visit to his former home in Ayr, Scotland. Upon his return, he set about building a house commensurate with his new stature as a leading merchant of Hillsborough, North Carolina, with retail stores that brought worldly goods to his hometown.

The Burwell School Historic Site

A property of the Historic Hillsborough Commission

The Burwell School Historic Site is a gem of historic Hillsborough, NC, located at the northern edge of the town's famed Historic District. Restored and open to the public, the early 19th century house and outbuildings bring history alive for visitors of ALL ages! Visit this site to explore the complex, multi-layered stories of freedom seeking and oppression through the lives of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly, Mary-Ann, Anna Burwell, and more.

Neighborhood gallery featuring the work of local artists, with free admission.

Hillsborough Gallery of Arts is a Fine Art & Fine Craft gallery owned and operated by 21 local artists. The Gallery’s offerings include painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, photomontage, jewelry, glass, metals, encaustic, enamel, scratchboard, painted gourds, and woodworks.