Hillsborough

#7 in Best Places to Live in Somerset County

Hillsborough is a township in Somerset County centrally located in the Raritan Valley region within the much larger New York Metropolitan Area. Hillsborough Township was originally created by Royal charter issued May 31, 1771, which was revoked and revised on September 12, 1771. It was incorporated on February 21, 1798 by the New Jersey Legislature Township Act of 1798 as one of New Jersey’s original group of 104 townships. Portions of the township were taken to form the boroughs of Millstone and Manville. The township’s name may have come from an earlier name of “Hillsbury”, though it may have been named for Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire who was the Earl of Hillsborough. 

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Amwell,[citation needed] Belle Mead, Blackwells Mills, Champlain, Cloverhill,[citation needed] Clover Mill, Flagtown, Frankfort, Hamilton, Higgins Mills, Montgomery, Neshanic, Pleasant View, Royce Field, Royce Valley, South Branch, Woods Tavern and Zion. The township borders Branchburg Township, Bridgewater Township, Franklin Township, Manville, Millstone, Montgomery Township, Raritan and Somerville in Somerset County; and East Amwell Township, Raritan Township and Readington Township in Hunterdon County.

As of the 2010 United States Census, the township’s population was 38,303, reflecting an increase of 1,669 (+4.6%) from the 36,634 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 7,826 (+27.2%) from the 28,808 counted in the 1990 Census.