1800
Population of Hillsborough Approximately 474
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Historical Context
Number of States in the US – 16
US President – John Adams
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1783 – Treaty of Paris officially ends the American Revolution
1786 – Number of lots in the town of Hillsborough extended to 150
1788 – US Constitution Ratification Convention held in Hillsborough
1789 – George Washington inaugurated as president; first Congress meets under
the Constitution;
First US census;
NC ratifies the Constitution
1790 – In March, fire destroys much of the town of Hillsborough
1801 – Thomas Jefferson becomes president, establishing the peaceful transfer of
power between political parties
1814 -- George Stephenson designs the first steam locomotive.
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Based on Original Research
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No extant map depicts the number of buildings in Hillsborough in or around 1800. The map presented above is based on land deeds and other historical documents. Accordingly, it does not show any outbuildings, although there would have been many along Churton Street.
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Despite the end of the American Revolution and the establishment of a new government under the US Constitution, little has changed in downtown Hillsborough. The population of the town is significantly greater, but the number of businesses has not changed as dramatically. Also, critical, the town lacks a church at this time as St. Matthew's Anglican Church (Church of England) had lost favor during the Revolution, the pastor had left, the building had been used for approximately fifteen years to house the state legislature, and it had either burned or fallen into such disrepair that it was taken down.
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Street names have changed. Dobbs Street and Spring Lane have been renamed to honor Governor William Tryon and his wife Margaret Wake Tryon. One can assume that the alteration was done at the behest of people who resided in town to signal their disapproval of the Regulator movement.
A March 27, 1790 article in the State Gazette reporting the fire in Hillsborough.
This 1804 map is registered in the Orange County Deed Office as PB 34/129. Given the limited number of names on the map compared to the actual number of deeds that indicate property ownership, it is presumed to have been drawn by Town Clerk James G. Murphy to designate people in arrears on their taxes. Consequently, owners who paid their taxes are not listed.