Named for early settlers Valentia Hill and his brothers, who arrived beginning in 1850, Hillsboro has an impressive history of making new opportunities in changing times. Albert Field, who made the first land claim in Hillsboro, Edward Klopfleisch, a German immigrant from New York, and Otto Hammer, one of the original owners of the village plat, were influential in bringing newcomers and investors to the new village in the late 1800s to build homes and start businesses in the area.

One of Hillsboro’s most celebrated residents was Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, born in Hillsboro in 1887, who served 41 years in the U.S. Navy. He served as Commander of Task Force 58 in the Pacific during World War II and ultimately became Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Admiral Mitscher took part in the first trans-Atlantic flight of Navy planes in 1919 and commanded the first nonstop Navy flight from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor in 1934.