HILLSBOROUGH

also spelled Hillsboro, town (township), Hillsborough county, southwestern New Hampshire, U.S., on the Contoocook River, west-southwest of Concord. The town includes the communities of Hillsborough, Hillsborough Center, Hillsborough Lower Village, and Hillsborough Upper Village. Granted in 1748 and named for John Hill, one of the Masonian Proprietors (a group of colonial-era landowners in New Hampshire), it was incorporated in 1772. It is a light industrial and agricultural centre but is known primarily as the birthplace of Franklin Pierce, 14th president of the United States; his homestead (1804) is preserved. Pat's Peak Ski Area and Franklin Pierce Lake are nearby. Area 44 square miles (113 square km). Pop. (1990) 4,498; (1996 est.) 4,652. county, southern New Hampshire, U.S., bordered to the south by Massachusetts. It is a hilly upland region drained by the Merrimack, Piscataquog, and other rivers and dotted with numerous small lakes, including Franklin Pierce Lake and Powder Mill Pond. Public lands include Clough, Greenfield, Miller, and Silver Lake state parks, as well as Fox, Vincent, and Casalis state forests. Timberland is largely white pine, with stands of maple, birch, beech, spruce, and fir. The county contains several covered truss bridges from the 19th century. Abnaki Indians of the Penacook Confederacy inhabited the region before European colonists in 1769 established Hillsborough, one of New Hampshire's original counties. It was named for Wills Hill, earl of Hillsborough. Early industries included soapstone quarrying in Francestown, from 1794, and cotton milling in New Ipswich, from 1803. Notable natives of the county included U.S. President Franklin Pierce, born in Hillsborough in 1804, and newspaper editor Horace Greeley, born in Amherst in 1811. Hillsborough county is the manufacturing centre of the state because of the industrial cities that line the Merrimack River valley: Manchester, Nashua (the county seat), Merrimack, and Hudson. Amoskeag Falls has long provided hydropower for industry in Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city. These cities contributed to the county's status as a leading producer of textile goods before World War II. Since diversified, the economy now depends upon the manufacture of paper products, iron and steel, computer terminals, electrical equipment, and optical instruments. Hillsborough is the most populous county in the state. Area 876 square miles (2,270 square km). Pop. (1990) 335,838; (1996 est.) 354,196. formerly Hillsboro (until 1965), town, seat of Orange county, north central North Carolina, U.S., on the Eno River, just northwest of Durham. Laid out in 1754 on the site of an Indian village (Acconeech or Occaneechi), it was initially called Orange, then Corbinton (after Francis Corbin, colonial official), and in 1759 it was incorporated as Childsburgh (for Thomas Childs, provincial attorney general). It was renamed in 1766 to honour Wills Hill (1718-93), earl of Hillsborough, then secretary of state for the colonies. In 1768 the town was the focus of disturbances by the Regulators (colonials who fought against taxes and legal fees) and during the Revolution it served for a time as state capital. British troops under Lord Cornwallis mustered there prior to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse (1781). Many pre-Revolutionary buildings have been preserved including Heartsease, home of Gov. Thomas Burke and scene of his capture by Tories in 1781. An industrial economy prevails with textiles and furniture as the town's main products. Pop. (1990) 4,263.