Hillsboro is a city in Traill County, North Dakota. It is the county seat of Traill County. The population was 1,649 at the 2020 census. Hillsboro was founded in 1881. Hillsboro is approximately 10 miles away from the Red River/North Dakota-Minnesota border.
Hillsboro sits in the fertile Red River Valley. Local agriculture has dominated the area's economy from the beginning. With its location on Interstate 29, halfway between the two metropolitan centers of Greater Grand Forks and Fargo–Moorhead, Hillsboro has seen steady population growth in recent years and has become somewhat of a bedroom community.
History
The area along the Goose River that is now Hillsboro was first settled by German and Norwegian settlers around 1870. In 1880, the present day site of Hillsboro was founded under the name "Comstock". Local folklore tells of the residents of nearby Caledonia, North Dakota turning away a shabby surveyor because of his appearance. This man was then offered hospitality by residents in the tiny settlement of Comstock. The man turned out to be railroad baron James J. Hill.
Hill was so impressed by the kindness showed to him by the residents of this small community that he decided to place his Great Northern Railway there instead of in Caledonia. The name of Comstock was platted as "Hill City" in September 1880 in honor of Mr. Hill. The city was then renamed "Hillsboro" in 1883 after it was discovered that there was already a "Hill City" elsewhere in Dakota Territory, now a part of South Dakota.
Caledonia went as far as to bring in a professional campaign speaker, Col. W. C. Plummer, to campaign on behalf of the town. His speeches were well-attended but, despite these efforts, Caledonia lost the county seat to Hillsboro in a 1,291 to 218 vote.
Geography
Hillsboro sits on the banks of the Goose River in eastern North Dakota. Located in the center of the fertile Red River Valley, the area around Hillsboro is prime agricultural land and very flat.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
Climate
This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Hillsboro has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.