Hillsborough began "up the road" at what is today referred to as Hillsborough Center. The area was first settled in the middle 18th century, under a grant given to Colonel John Hill of Boston, who lent his name to the settlement. Early settlers came from towns in eastern Massachusetts and from the Scotch-Irish towns in southeastern New Hampshire. By 1772, Hillsborough was incorporated as a town, and held its first town meeting on November 14, 1772 at the old Bradford Inn on Bible Hill. Soon, there would be three more Hillsboroughs: Hillsborough Bridge, the mill town on the Contoocook River that is today's downtown, and the quaint Upper and Lower Villages with their stately homes along the Second N.H. Turnpike. Hillsborough is the hometown of Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States.

Official Town Web Site
Downtown Hillsborough