Hillsboro

About Hillsboro

Hillsboro, Oregon rests in the Tualatin Valley, is the county seat of Washington County and currently is the fifth leading city in the state. Hillsboro was originally known as East Tualatin Plains and Columbia before it became the city of Hillsborough in honor of David Hill one of its original settlers when he sold the county a section of his land in February 1850, it was during that time it also officially became the county seat. Hillsboro is located on west of Portland and the home base for Intel and other high-tech businesses that encompass what is referred to as the Silicon Forest. In 1842, pioneers settled into the area prior to this a tribe of Kalapuya known, as the Atfalati or Tualaty inhabited the Tualatin Valley. The tribe survived for 10,000 years by hunting and fishing while collecting other provisions such as nuts and roots from the area. The tribe traded with the Chinookan tribes on the Willamette River for salmon. With the arrival of the colonists, the tribe contracted small pox, malaria and syphilis bringing death to many of their people drastically dropping their number from around two thousand to sixty-five. The United States government moved them to the Grande Ronde reservation some distance to the west in 1855. The colonists found the area perfect for growing their crops. With the first railroad reaching Hillsboro in the early 1870s, which was followed by the more sophisticated electric railway approximately forty years, later the city began to grow. In the 1980's high-tech companies moved into the area bringing many job opportunities to the area making Hillsboro the city it is today. Also in the area are some wonderful wine vineyards and wineries. There are twenty some parks and nine listed Historical Sites within the city that are recorded in the National Register of Historic Places. Including the Old Scotch Church, the Harold Wass Ray House and the Richard and Helen Rice House, the Imbrie Farm, Zula Linklater House, the Rice-Gates House, the Edward Schlmerich House, the Charles Shorey House and the Manning-Kamna Farm. Hillsboro is a great vacation spot with its extensive history, old homes, and scenic parks there is something here for everyone.