Hillsborough, North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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^GR6.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Notable Hillsboroughans
5 Hillsborough History
6 External links

[edit] History

Hillsborough was surveyed and mapped by William Churton (a surveyor for Earl Granville) in 1754, and was originally named Corbin Town (for Francis Corbin, a member of the governor's council and one of Granville's land agents) soon thereafter in 1754, and again 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 wasn't 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.

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 town was used as a base by (British General) Cornwallis in February of 1781 during the American Revolution. 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 20th century.

Hillsborough was once the capital of North Carolina.

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

The Burwell family ran an early 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 she wrote a memoir.

Occoneechee Speedway, just outside of Hillsborough, was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open and is the only track remaining from that inaugural, 1949 season.

On August 31, 2006, a 19 year old accused of killing his father is arrested at a Hillsborough school after wounding two students. Pipe bombs and firearms found in his minivan. See List of school shootings.

[edit] Geography

Location of Hillsborough, North Carolina

The Eno River at Hillsborough

Hillsborough is located at 36°4′29″N, 79°6′15″W (36.074794, -79.104183)^GR1, along the Eno River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 11.9 km² (4.6 mi²). 11.9 km² (4.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.22% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,446 people, 2,101 households, and 1,428 families residing in the town. The population density was 459.1/km² (1,188.7/mi²). There were 2,329 housing units at an average density of 196.3/km² (508.3/mi²). 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

Phil Harvey - Enterpreneur
Logan Pause - Soccer player
Doug Marlette - Cartoonist and author
Lee Smith - Author
William Hooper - A lawyer and politician who signed the United States Declaration of Independence for North Carolina
Shepperd Strudwick - Actor
Sarah Hoyt - Author