Hillsborough, NC

The early history of North Carolina is documented by the many signs and historical markers which line Churton Street in historic downtown Hillsborough. But the past is the past and after a period of sleep Hillsborough has awakened to become the center of culture, entertainment and education envisioned by Paul Cameron and William Graham a hundred and fifty years ago. Not your ordinary small southern town, Hillsborough has lately been attracting some of the finest minds in the south who have made it their home. Located 12 miles from both Durham and Chapel Hill and 38 miles from Raleigh, Hillsborough is convenient to Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park. The nearest airport is RDU International, just 40 minutes away.
(You can click on most of these photos to see them full-size)

History of Hillsborough

The Occoneechee and other Native Americans had already been on the site of Hillsborough for almost a thousand years, as recorded by explorer John Lawson who visited the area in 1701. These Siouan-speaking people lived along the Eno and Haw rivers in settled villages growing corn, beans and squash and hunting deer, bear, racoon, rabbits and turtles. By 1710 the Occaneechi had joined other related tribes at Fort Christianna, Virginia where Governor Spotswood hoped to convert them to Christianity and teach them the English language and culture and use them as a buffer between the colonists and the Cherokees in the west. By the mid-seventeen hundreds there were over 4000 white settlers in the area and the Native Americans did not begin to return until the late 1700's.

Governor William Tryon of North Carolina The town of Hillsborough, was founded in 1754 on the spot where the Great Indian Trading path crossed the Eno River, as a central location for the Orange county courthouse. A center of political activity before and during the Revolutionary war, the Orange County Regulators fought against the oppressive laws of the eastern North Carolina landowners who ruled the colony. Colonel Edmund Fanning, Clerk of the Recorder's Court at Hillsborough, was a prime target as was Governor William Tryon (left), who used taxes to build Tryon Palace in New Bern to be used as his own residence and as a the center of government for North Carolina. Inspired by the Sons of Liberty who resisted the Stamp Act, the Regulators fought a series of skirmishes with the government but were finally defeated in the Battle of Alamance Creek on May 6 1771 and six of them were hanged in Hillsborough. It is believed that the Regulators were precursors of the American Revolution and illustrates the desire for independence many colonists had during this time. In February of 1781 General Charles Cornwallis used the town as his headquarters while he recruited for his militia from the residents of Orange County, some of whom were loyal to the British and others who were revolutionaries. William Hooper, who had been beaten up by the Regulators a few years before served on Thomas Jefferson's committee to compose the Declaration of Independence. Though he was sick on July 4th 1776 his named was added on the 2nd of August.

General Wade Hampton CSA In 1778 Hillsborough hosted the state's Constitutional convention and the delegates demanded that the Bill of Rights be added to the US Constitution and voted against its ratification. In the mid-nineteenth century Hillsborough was home to the Burwell School for young ladies and the Hillsborough Military Academy and in 1865 General Wade Hampton (right) established the last confederate headquarters and later was at Bennett Place in Durham with General Joseph Johnston to discuss the terms of surrender with General Sherman. By the end of the century Hillsborough rivaled neighboring Durham is the production of tobacco with five manufacturing companies and the town grew as more farmers gave up their fields to live in town and work in the cotton mills that had opened.

In 1973 downtown Hillsborough was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and in 2004 the town celebrated it's 250th anniversary.

Visiting Hillsborough

There are two ways to approach Hillsborough from Interstate 85 which runs from Petersburg, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia. If you get off at the exit for old 86 and go north you will find yourself in the typical urban blight of fast-food, Wallmart, used car lots and unattractive shopping centers. You have to get through this gauntlet before you cross the Eno River and find yourself in downtown Hillsborough. If you get off at the exit for new 86 you will make a softer entry past farms, forests (and a massage parlor). Either way once you get onto Churton Street and park your car you can wander around this very walk-able town. If you stop at the Orange County Visitors center, in the Alexander Dickson House, which was the last headquarters of the confederacy, you can pick up a map and some brochures and begin the historic tour on your own or with the Guided Tour Service that visits the historic district as well as the former Hillsborough Military Academy, the Burwell School and the old textile mills and mill village of West Hillsborough on the second Saturday of every month. (For tour information call 919 732-7741).

Behind the Orange County Sheriff's Dept on East Margaret lane is the reconstructed 17th century Occaneechi Village on the banks of Eno River, near where the tribe had an actual village 300 years ago. Within several blocks of the river you will find the Orange County Historical Museum in the old Confederate Memorial Library, Dickerson's Chapel c.1790, the Colonial Inn c.1838, the Hillsborough House Inn c.1797 and the Old Slave Cemetery on Margaret Lane. The Orange County Courthouse is also here as anyone from Chapel Hill who has gotten a summons for jury duty knows.

Antiques, Food and Nightlife in Hillsborough

Churton Street is Hillsborough's main street and is also route 86 which goes north to Virginia adding unnecessary traffic to the town. But if you can ignore it you will find yourself on a picturesque and quaint southern street with a number of restaurants, shops and even a few nightlife spots. Of particular interest to people of my age is the Blue Bayou Club which features the best in local blues, rock, folk, jazz like Taz Halloween & Robert Griffin and also attracts such national acts as The Nighthawks (left), Bob Margolin, Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers, Cool John Ferguson and many others. They also host an open-mike every Tuesday.

The last thing in the world you would expect to find in a small southern town is an English pub. But Hillsborough is no ordinary small town and on Churton Street The Wooden Nickle offers beers and food in the type of place you would be more likely to find in a college town. Next door is Tupelo's which serves southern coastal cuisine with a New Orlean's accent. From authentic New Orleans's gumbo to Honey Pecan Crusted Chicken, Tupelo's caters to all appetites with a variety of soups, sandwiches and entrees with a carefully chosen wine menu, a great selection of beer and a full ABC licensed bar.

At #11 Churton Street my old pal Phil Campbell who owns the Flying Burrito restaurant in Chapel Hill, a place where I have spent nearly a quarter of my adult eating life, has opened the Flying Fish in the old James Pharmacy. With fresh fish delivered from the coast three times a week, and the creativity of Phil and Chef Michael Gonzales this restaurant could be reason enough to live in Hillsborough. Tuna tacos, grilled salmon and spinach enchiladas, catfish burritos and much of Flying Burrito's varied vegetarian selection should bring a lot of people from all over to downtown Hillsborough. And if Phil's Mexican is not Mexican enough for you there is always Bandido's right down the street. Around the corner on King Street is Cup-A-Joe's Coffee where you can get fresh roasted coffee, espresso, pastries and conversation. On the last block before the river is the Hillsborough Wine Company where they cram over 700 different wines into a shop that is about the size of your parent's bedroom. Beer too.

As you leave Hillsborough and travel south on Old 86 past the previously mentioned American commercial wasteland you will see on your left Daniel Boone Antique Village, one of the largest collection of antique shops in the south, and other attractions including a convention center, a working blacksmith, gift stores, financial and technical services, consignment, clothing, restaurants and more. The Big Barn Convention Center is a Hillsborough landmark with a 300 person capacity, hosting many annual and special events including CD and record conventions, craft shows, auctions, weddings, family reunions and concerts. The Big Barn may have been the last gig for Richard Manual when The Band played there in March of 1986 a few days before his death. The Village Diner is the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Hillsborough serving a lunch and dinner buffet plus a regular menu which included barbecue and other southern favorites. The Harbor Bay Seafood on Groucho Lane occupies the space of my old favorite Groucho's Seafood (How could you go wrong with a name like this?) and serves fried and broiled seafood as well as steaks and pastas. Groucho Lane is off Highway 70 between Durham and Hillsborough. If you take new 86 towards Chapel Hill you will come to the famous Allan and Sons Barbecue which was highly rated on my North Carolina Barbecue Page.

Hillsborough Events

Hillsborough's Hog Day, held the third Saturday in June features live music, children's activities, barbecue cook-offs, crafters, merchandise vendors, a petting zoo, games and rides, and the area's largest classic auto show as 36 pig cooking teams from all over the state roll into town and the smell of whole pigs and pork shoulders roasting fills the air. The Carolina Classic Auto Club hosts up to 150 classic automobiles from pre-war through 1975.

Other events include the Spring Garden Tour to some of the loveliest gardens in town, sponsored by the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough. On the first Sunday in December the Christmas Candlelight Tour visits some of Hillsborough's finest homes.

Things to Do In and Around Hillsborough

Occoneechee Speedway was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open and is the only track remaining from that inaugural, 1949 season. The site is now heavily forested the grandstands which once held thousands of fans and the mile�long oval track is still visible. It was at Occoneechee Speedway where such legends as Fireball Roberts, Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson once spent their Sundays. This site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and you can now walk the 44 acre site with 3 miles of trails. It is located at 320 Elizabeth Brady Road in Hillsborough, NC and is open to the public during daylight hours every day. It is free of charge. If you crave the sound of roaring engines and the smell of carbon monoxide and burning rubber you will have to wait. Orange County Speedway, a 3/8 mile paved oval located near Rougemont, North Carolina shut down in 2003 and is currently for sale.

The Eno River begins in northwest Orange County, flowing eastward for approximately 33 miles until it becomes the Neuse and flows into Falls Lake. The Eno River State Park which follows the river offers Camping, canoeing, education and events, fishing, hiking, picnic-ing. The river varies from rocky rapids to a slow meander past historic mill sites, farms, forests and steep bluffs. The Eno River hosts at least 61 species of fish, 12 species of freshwater mussels, many of which are on endangered species lists; seven species of turtles; 14 species of snakes; 15 species of amphibians; and a variety of mammals including beaver, river otter, muskrat, woodchuck, weasel, mink, and white-tailed deer. Over 100 species of trees are in the Eno River State Park.

There are two golf courses nearby. The Cedar Grove Golf Course north of town on McDade Store Road, is an 18-hole par-71 with a driving range, chipping and putting green and a pro shop. Call 919 732 8397 for rates and times. The Occhoeechee Golf Course at 1500 Lawrence Road, west of Hillsborough is also an 18-hole par-71 with a driving range, chipping and putting green and a pro shop. The Triangle Sportsplex at 1 Dann Kidd Drive has an ice-skating rink, three indoor swimming pools, and hosts adult and youth hockey leagues, indoor and out door cycling, a fitness gym with professional trainers, lots of activities for kids and a snack shop.

The Hillsborough Farmer's Market is open on Wednesdays in the parking lot next to the Sheriff's Office on East Margaret Lane and on Saturdays in the CCB Parking lot near the corner of Kind and Churton Streets. The Last Friday program is held on the last Friday of every month from April through September with musical performances on the Old Courthouse lawn and special events and exhibits in the shops and restaurants as well as on the sidewalks. Winter Fridays is a continuation of this and performances are held indoors. Other events such as Conversations in Jazz and the Hangin' With The Regulators concerts as well as parlor concerts are put on by the all volunteer Hillsborough Arts Council. In 1982 the New Goloka Center was founded by his Holiness Bir Krisna Das Goswami in a wooded area on the Eno River. This center would give people the opportunity to understand the Vedic teachings based on Bhagavad-Gita and other Vedic literatures. It has now grown into a spiritual center of the of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and members of the community can be found feeding the homeless and poor students and chanting Hare-Krishna in Chapel Hill or distributing books at the airport and towns of the triangle. (I still have the Bhagavad-Gita I got from my friend Vinnie Signorelli when I visited the center in 82.)

Before leaving Hillsborough take a drive up 86 towards Yancyville to the very small village of Shangri-la. Henry L. Warren a retired tobacco farmer kept building this collection of leprechaun-sized houses until he died at the age of 84. His wife said that "as long as Henry had a cigarette and a Coca-Cola, he'd keep building" and from 1968 until his death in 1978, he and his neighbor Junius Pennix not only built 28 stone houses but also managed to incorporate 11,000 arrowheads into the walkways of his home.

Carved in stone in front of the town are these words: Shangri-la. Let me live in a house by the side of the road and be a friend to man.- H.L.W. 1972