First granted in 1735 by Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts as Number 7, one in a line of nine towns set up as defense barriers against Indian attacks. The towns were renamed following the 1741 establishment of New Hampshire as a separate province. In 1748, the town was named for Wills Hill, Earl of Hillsborough, as was Hillsborough County, created in 1769 by Governor John Wentworth. Hillsborough is the birthplace of Franklin Pierce, fourteenth President of the United States, the only President from New Hampshire.
