Hillsborough, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
Hillsborough is a town in Orange County
, North Carolina
, United States
. The population was 5,653 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat
of Orange County
.
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 1960s.
and the Eno
were living in the Hillsborough area at the time of European contact, before they were displaced. The explorer John Lawson recorded visiting "Occaneechi Town" when he travelled through North Carolina in 1701.
In the early 18th century, the Occaneechi left Hillsborough for Virginia
, returning to the area around 1780. An original Occaneechi farming village was excavated by an archaeological team from UNC-Chapel Hill in the 1980s. A replica of an Occaneechi village stands close to the original Eno River
settlement.
Hillsborough was founded in 1754, and was first owned, surveyed, and mapped by William Churton
(a surveyor for Earl Granville
). Originally to be named Orange, it was named Corbin Town (for Francis Corbin, a member of the governor's council and one of Granville's land agents), and 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 was not 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 William Tryon
.
Hillsborough was an early Piedmont
colonial town where court was held, and was the scene of some pre-Revolutionary War
tensions. In the late 1760s, tensions between (in a nutshell) Piedmont farmers and county officers welled up in the Regulator movement
, which had its epicenter in Hillsborough. With specie scarce, many inland farmers found themselves unable to pay their taxes and resented the consequent seizure of their property. Local sheriffs sometimes kept taxes for their own gain and sometimes charged twice for the same tax. Governor William Tryon
's conspicuous consumption in the construction of a new governor's mansion
at New Bern fuelled the movement's resentment. As the western districts were under-represented in the colonial legislature, it was difficult for the farmers to obtain redress by legislative
means. Ultimately, the frustrated farmers took to arms and closed the court in Hillsborough, dragging those they saw as corrupt officials through the streets. Tryon and North Carolina militia
troops marched to the region and defeated the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance
in May 1771. Several trials were held after the war, resulting in the hanging of six Regulators at Hillsborough on June 19, 1771.
The town was used as the home of the North Carolina state legislature during the American Revolution
. Hillsborough served as a military base for British General Charles Cornwallis
in late February 1781. The United States Constitution
drafted in 1787 was controversial in North Carolina. Delegate meetings at Hillsborough in July 1788 initially voted to reject, following Anti-Federalist
views. They were persuaded to change their minds partly by the strenuous efforts of James Iredell
and William Richardson Davie
and partly by the prospect of a Bill of Rights
. The Constitution was later ratified by North Carolina at a convention in Fayetteville
.
William Hooper
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
, was buried in the Presbyterian Church cemetery in October 1790. However, his remains were later reinterred at Guilford Court House Military Battlefield
. His original gravestone remains in the town cemetery.
and wrote a memoir.
When the Civil War began, Hillsborough was reluctant to support secession. However, many citizens went off to fight for the Confederacy
.
In March 1865, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston
wintered just outside of Hillsborough at the Dickson home, which now serves as the Hillsborough Welcome Center in downtown (the house was moved from its original site in the early 1980s due to commercial development). The main portion of the Confederate Army of Tennessee was encamped around Greensboro
.
After his March to the Sea
, while camped in Raleigh
, Union General William T. Sherman offered an armistice to Johnston, who agreed to meet to discuss terms of surrender. Johnston, traveling east from Hillsborough and Sherman, traveling west from Raleigh along the Hillsborough-Raleigh Road, met approximately half-way near present-day Durham (then Durham Station) at the home of James and Nancy Bennett, a farmhouse now known as Bennett Place
. The two generals met three times on April 17, 18th, and finally on the 26th, which resulted in the final terms of surrender. Johnston surrendered 89,270 Southern troops who were still active in North Carolina, South Carolina
, Georgia, and Florida
. This was the largest surrender of troops during the war, and effectively ended the Civil War.
, just outside Hillsborough, was one of the first two NASCAR
tracks to open and is the only track remaining from that inaugural 1949 season. The Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail (HOST), is a three-mile (5 km) trail located on 44 acres (178,061.8 m²) at the site of the former Speedway. Bill France
and the early founders of NASCAR bought land to build a one-mile (1.6 km) oval track at Hillsborough, but opposition from local religious
leaders prevented the track from being built in the town and NASCAR officials built the large speedway Talladega Superspeedway
in Talladega, Alabama
instead.
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²), of which, 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²) of it is land and 0.22% is water.
of 2000, there were 5,446 people, 2,101 households, and 1,428 families residing in the town. The population density
was 1,188.7 people per square mile (459.1/km²). There were 2,329 housing units at an average density of 508.3 per square mile (196.3/km²). 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.
, Allan Gurganus
, Michael Malone
, Annie Dillard
, Hal Crowther
, Jamie Gorski, Frances Mayes
, the late Doug Marlette, and David Payne.
Orange County, North Carolina
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,801. Its county seat is Hillsborough...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 5,653 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Orange County
Orange County, North Carolina
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,801. Its county seat is Hillsborough...
.
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 1960s.
Native-American history
Local Native-American groups had lived in the Hillsborough area for thousands of years by the time European-American settlers discovered the area. Siouan-language groups such as the OccaneechiOccaneechi
The Occaneechi are Native Americans who lived primarily on a large, long Occoneechee Island and east of the confluence of the Dan and Roanoke Rivers, near current day Clarksville, Virginia in the 17th century...
and the Eno
Eno
- Music :* English National Opera, located at the Coliseum Theatre in St. Martin's Lane* Eno, an album by Japanese band Polysics* "Eno", a song by X-Wife from Rockin' Rio EP- Places :* Eno, Finland, a former municipality, now part of Joensuu...
were living in the Hillsborough area at the time of European contact, before they were displaced. The explorer John Lawson recorded visiting "Occaneechi Town" when he travelled through North Carolina in 1701.
In the early 18th century, the Occaneechi left Hillsborough for Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, returning to the area around 1780. An original Occaneechi farming village was excavated by an archaeological team from UNC-Chapel Hill in the 1980s. A replica of an Occaneechi village stands close to the original Eno River
Eno River
The Eno River, named for the Eno Indians who once lived along its banks, is the initial tributary of the Neuse River in North Carolina, USA.The Eno rises in Orange County. The river's watershed occupies most of Orange and Durham counties...
settlement.
Colonial period and Revolutionary War
William Churton
William Churton was an early North Carolina surveyor.He moved to Great Britain's North American colonies in about 1749 as a surveyor and cartographer for the Granville District which included all of North Carolina north of the 35 degree, 34 minute parallel, a strip wide. This line had only been...
(a surveyor for Earl Granville
John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville
John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, KG, PC , commonly known by his earlier title as Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763.-Family:...
). Originally to be named Orange, it was named Corbin Town (for Francis Corbin, a member of the governor's council and one of Granville's land agents), and 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 was not until 1766 that it was named Hillsborough, after the Earl of Hillsborough
Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire
Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire PC , known as the Viscount Hillsborough from 1742 to 1751 and as the Earl of Hillsborough from 1751 to 1789, was a British politician of the Georgian era...
, the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
secretary of state for the colonies and a relative of royal Governor William Tryon
William Tryon
William Tryon was a British soldier and colonial administrator who served as governor of the Province of North Carolina and the Province of New York .-Early life and career:...
.
Hillsborough was an early Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
colonial town where court was held, and was the scene of some pre-Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
tensions. In the late 1760s, tensions between (in a nutshell) Piedmont farmers and county officers welled up in the Regulator movement
War of the Regulation
The War of the Regulation was a North Carolina uprising, lasting from approximately 1760 to 1771, in which citizens took up arms against corrupt colonial officials...
, which had its epicenter in Hillsborough. With specie scarce, many inland farmers found themselves unable to pay their taxes and resented the consequent seizure of their property. Local sheriffs sometimes kept taxes for their own gain and sometimes charged twice for the same tax. Governor William Tryon
William Tryon
William Tryon was a British soldier and colonial administrator who served as governor of the Province of North Carolina and the Province of New York .-Early life and career:...
's conspicuous consumption in the construction of a new governor's mansion
Tryon Palace
Tryon Palace is a modern reconstruction of the historical colonial royal governors' palace of the Province of North Carolina. It was constructed in the 1950s across the original mansion site located in the city of New Bern, North Carolina. Today it is a State Historic Site. The Palace gardens are...
at New Bern fuelled the movement's resentment. As the western districts were under-represented in the colonial legislature, it was difficult for the farmers to obtain redress by legislative
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
means. Ultimately, the frustrated farmers took to arms and closed the court in Hillsborough, dragging those they saw as corrupt officials through the streets. Tryon and North Carolina militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
troops marched to the region and defeated the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance
Battle of Alamance
The Battle of Alamance was the final battle of the War of the Regulation, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over issues of taxation and local control. In the past, historians considered the battle to be the opening salvo of the American Revolution and locals agreed with this assessment...
in May 1771. Several trials were held after the war, resulting in the hanging of six Regulators at Hillsborough on June 19, 1771.
The town was used as the home of the North Carolina state legislature during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. Hillsborough served as a military base for British General Charles Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
in late February 1781. The United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
drafted in 1787 was controversial in North Carolina. Delegate meetings at Hillsborough in July 1788 initially voted to reject, following Anti-Federalist
Anti-Federalism
Anti-Federalism refers to a movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the Constitution of 1787. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Confederation, gave state governments more authority...
views. They were persuaded to change their minds partly by the strenuous efforts of James Iredell
James Iredell
James Iredell was one of the first Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was appointed by President George Washington and served from 1790 until his death in 1799...
and William Richardson Davie
William Richardson Davie
William Richardson Davie was a military officer and the tenth Governor of North Carolina from 1798 to 1799, as well as one of the most important men involved in the founding of the University of North Carolina...
and partly by the prospect of a Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
. The Constitution was later ratified by North Carolina at a convention in Fayetteville
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
.
William Hooper
William Hooper
William Hooper was an American lawyer, politician, and a member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1774 through 1777...
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, was buried in the Presbyterian Church cemetery in October 1790. However, his remains were later reinterred at Guilford Court House Military Battlefield
Battle of Guilford Court House
The Battle of Guilford Court House was a battle fought on March 15, 1781 in Greensboro, the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, during the American Revolutionary War...
. His original gravestone remains in the town cemetery.
The Antebellum Period and American Civil War
The Burwell family ran a 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 LincolnMary Todd Lincoln
Mary Ann Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.-Life before the White House:...
and wrote a memoir.
When the Civil War began, Hillsborough was reluctant to support secession. However, many citizens went off to fight for the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
.
In March 1865, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
wintered just outside of Hillsborough at the Dickson home, which now serves as the Hillsborough Welcome Center in downtown (the house was moved from its original site in the early 1980s due to commercial development). The main portion of the Confederate Army of Tennessee was encamped around Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
.
After his March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
, while camped in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, Union General William T. Sherman offered an armistice to Johnston, who agreed to meet to discuss terms of surrender. Johnston, traveling east from Hillsborough and Sherman, traveling west from Raleigh along the Hillsborough-Raleigh Road, met approximately half-way near present-day Durham (then Durham Station) at the home of James and Nancy Bennett, a farmhouse now known as Bennett Place
Bennett Place
Bennett Place, sometimes known as Bennett Farm, in Durham, North Carolina was the site of the largest surrender of Confederate soldiers ending the American Civil War, on April 26, 1865.-History:...
. The two generals met three times on April 17, 18th, and finally on the 26th, which resulted in the final terms of surrender. Johnston surrendered 89,270 Southern troops who were still active in North Carolina, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, Georgia, and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. This was the largest surrender of troops during the war, and effectively ended the Civil War.
Auto racing
Occoneechee SpeedwayOcconeechee Speedway
Occoneechee Speedway was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open. It closed in 1968 and is the only dirt track remaining from the inaugural 1949 season.It is located just outside the town of Hillsborough, North Carolina.-Site history:...
, just outside Hillsborough, was one of the first two NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
tracks to open and is the only track remaining from that inaugural 1949 season. The Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail (HOST), is a three-mile (5 km) trail located on 44 acres (178,061.8 m²) at the site of the former Speedway. Bill France
Bill France
Bill France may refer to one of two people involved in NASCAR, father and son:*Bill France, Sr. , nicknamed "Big Bill", the founder of NASCAR and its president from 1948–1971...
and the early founders of NASCAR bought land to build a one-mile (1.6 km) oval track at Hillsborough, but opposition from local religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
leaders prevented the track from being built in the town and NASCAR officials built the large speedway Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama, United States. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base just outside the small city of Lincoln. It was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in...
in Talladega, Alabama
Talladega, Alabama
Talladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,143. The city is the county seat of Talladega County. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama....
instead.
Geography
Hillsborough is located at 36°4′29"N 79°6′15"W (36.074794, -79.104183), along the Eno RiverEno River
The Eno River, named for the Eno Indians who once lived along its banks, is the initial tributary of the Neuse River in North Carolina, USA.The Eno rises in Orange County. The river's watershed occupies most of Orange and Durham counties...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²), of which, 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²) of it is land and 0.22% is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 5,446 people, 2,101 households, and 1,428 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,188.7 people per square mile (459.1/km²). There were 2,329 housing units at an average density of 508.3 per square mile (196.3/km²). 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
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 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
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
Notable Hillsboroughans
For its size, Hillsborough has a high concentration of residents who are nationally known authors, including Lee SmithLee Smith (author)
Lee Smith is an American fiction author who typically incorporates much of her home roots in the Southeastern United States in her works of literature. She has received many writing awards, such as the O. Henry Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Fiction, and the North...
, Allan Gurganus
Allan Gurganus
Allan Gurganus is an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist whose work is often influenced by and set in his native North Carolina. His writing has been compared to the work of William Faulkner and Eudora Welty, who also were identified with the American South.-Biography: Gurganus was...
, Michael Malone
Michael Malone
Michael Malone is an Emmy Award-winning American author and television writer, born in Durham, North Carolina. He is best known for his work on the ABC Daytime drama One Life to Live, as well as for his best-selling works of fiction Handling Sin , Foolscap , and murder mystery First Lady...
, Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and non-fiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memoir. Her 1974 work Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for General...
, Hal Crowther
Hal Crowther
Hal Crowther is an American journalist and essayist.His essays have been published in many anthologies, including Novello: Ten Years of Great American Writing...
, Jamie Gorski, Frances Mayes
Frances Mayes
Frances Mayes is an American university professor, poet, memoirist, essayist, and novelist.Born and raised in Fitzgerald, Georgia, Mayes attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and obtained her BA from the University of Florida...
, the late Doug Marlette, and David Payne.
- George B. AndersonGeorge B. AndersonGeorge Burgwyn Anderson was a career military officer, serving first in the antebellum U.S. Army and then dying from wounds inflicted during the American Civil War while a general officer in the Confederate Army. He was among six generals killed or mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam in...
- Civil War Confederate general, killed at the Battle of AntietamBattle of AntietamThe Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000... - Logan PauseLogan PauseLogan Pause is an American soccer player who currently plays for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...
- Soccer player - Doug Marlette - cartoonist and author, maintained a home in Hillsborough and was buried there
- Lee SmithLee Smith (author)Lee Smith is an American fiction author who typically incorporates much of her home roots in the Southeastern United States in her works of literature. She has received many writing awards, such as the O. Henry Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Fiction, and the North...
- Author - Allan GurganusAllan GurganusAllan Gurganus is an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist whose work is often influenced by and set in his native North Carolina. His writing has been compared to the work of William Faulkner and Eudora Welty, who also were identified with the American South.-Biography: Gurganus was...
, author of Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells AllOldest Living Confederate Widow Tells AllOldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All is a 1989 first novel by Allan Gurganus which was on the New York Times Best Seller list for eight months. It won the Sue Kaufman Prize from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, was a main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, and sold over four... - William HooperWilliam HooperWilliam Hooper was an American lawyer, politician, and a member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1774 through 1777...
- A lawyer and politician who signed the United States Declaration of Independence for North Carolina - Shepperd StrudwickShepperd StrudwickShepperd Strudwick was an American actor of film, television, and stage....
- Actor - Jamie Gorski - Playwright
- Sarah HoytSarah HoytSarah de Almeida Hoyt is an award-winning fiction author.-Biography:Hoyt was born on November 18, 1962 in the village of Granja, Águas Santas, Maia near Porto, Portugal, a major port city on the Atlantic coast...
- Author - Frances MayesFrances MayesFrances Mayes is an American university professor, poet, memoirist, essayist, and novelist.Born and raised in Fitzgerald, Georgia, Mayes attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and obtained her BA from the University of Florida...
- Author - Connie RayConnie RayConstance "Connie" Ray is an American film and television actress and playwright. Among her highest profile appearances are Thank You for Smoking and Stuart Little , and the television drama ER...
- Actress, The Torkelsons - Elizabeth KecklyElizabeth KecklyElizabeth Hobbs Keckley was a former slave turned successful seamstress who is most notably known as being Mary Todd Lincoln's personal modiste and confidante, and the author of her autobiography, Behind the Scenes Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House. Mrs...
- Dressmaker and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln and enslaved in the Burwell Household - Billy StrayhornBilly StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
- An American composer, pianist and arranger - Annie DillardAnnie DillardAnnie Dillard is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and non-fiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memoir. Her 1974 work Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for General...
- Author - Michael MaloneMichael MaloneMichael Malone is an Emmy Award-winning American author and television writer, born in Durham, North Carolina. He is best known for his work on the ABC Daytime drama One Life to Live, as well as for his best-selling works of fiction Handling Sin , Foolscap , and murder mystery First Lady...
- Edgar Award-winning novelist and Daytime Emmy AwardDaytime Emmy AwardThe Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
-winning soap opera writer - Carmine Prioli - Author
- Anna Jean MayhewAnna Jean MayhewAnna Jean Mayhew is an author from Charlotte, North Carolina who was born on January 27, 1940. She now currently resides in Hillsborough, North Carolina with her husband Jean-Michel Margot, together they have three children. Mayhew's husband is swiss born and so therefore they often travel...
- Author of The Dry Grass of August - John Claude Bemis - Author of The Nine Pound Hammer
External links
- Hillsborough/Orange Chamber of Commerce
- OurHillsborough.com Online community forum
- Hillsborough Arts Council Hillsborough Arts Council
- Orange County Schools Orange County Schools
- Squeeze the Pulp Internet forum on politics, news, and community in Orange County
- OrangePolitics progressive multi-author blog about Orange County issues