Hillsborough, New Hampshire: Home of the Franklin Pierce Homestead

Hillsborough, frequently spelled Hillsboro, is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA.

The Hidden Gems of Hillsborough: Granite, Water, and Early American History

If you look closely at a modern map of southern New Hampshire, you will find a town shaped by a river, defined by four historic villages, and tied deeply to the fate of a U.S. President. Originally chartered as "Number 7" before being renamed for the British Earl of Hillsborough, this corner of the Monadnock region is a living museum of classic New England grit and craftsmanship.

Rivers and Dry-Stone Masterpieces

During the 19th-century Industrial Revolution, Hillsborough Bridge emerged as a booming manufacturing center. Powered by the rushing waters of the Contoocook River, local factories—like the famed Contoocook Mills—produced the rugged woolen blankets and hosiery that kept the Union Army warm during the American Civil War.

But the river also brought spring floods that routinely smashed wooden bridges to splinters. To solve this, the town turned to its local hills, which were rich with granite quarries.

Between the 1830s and 1860s, a group of rural, self-taught Yankee stonemason craftsmen—including Reuben Loveren and the Gould brothers—achieved an engineering marvel. They built a series of granite arch bridges entirely by hand, fitting the stones so perfectly that they required absolutely no mortar.

Because the lime mortar of the era dissolved easily in turbulent water, these dry-laid stone arches proved to be indestructible. Today, Hillsborough holds the largest remaining cluster of these structures in the United States, with five surviving bridges collectively designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

A Presidential Legacy Underwater and on Land

Hillsborough’s other great claim to fame is its connection to Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States.

In a twist of historical irony, Pierce's actual birthplace—the modest log cabin where he spent the first few weeks of his infancy in 1804—no longer exists on land. When the North Branch of the Contoocook River was dammed in 1926 to create Jackman Reservoir (now known as Franklin Pierce Lake), the waters slowly flooded the valley, submerging the president's birthplace under roughly ten feet of water. Along with the cabin, a sixth historic stone arch bridge (the Tuttle Bridge) was swallowed by the reservoir, sitting fully intact at the bottom of the lake.

Fortunately, Pierce’s legacy is perfectly preserved a few miles away at the Franklin Pierce Homestead. Built by his father, Benjamin Pierce—a Revolutionary War general and later Governor of New Hampshire—the grand, two-story hipped-roof mansion reflects the affluent political life of the 19th century. Complete with an expansive second-floor ballroom used to entertain the state's elite, the home is a meticulously preserved National Historic Landmark open to the public.

Preserving the "Four-Village" Charm

While modern commercial life centers around Hillsborough Bridge, the town has remarkably avoided the generic sprawl that claims so many historic places. It still retains its unique, sprawling layout across its four original settlements:

1. Hillsborough Bridge: The bustling, industrial-turned-commercial heart.

2. Lower Village: Home to early settlements.

3. Upper Village: A quiet nod to agricultural roots.

4. Hillsborough Center: An architectural time capsule.

Hillsborough Center remains almost entirely untouched since the late 1700s. Walking its quiet roads past the historic schoolhouse, white-steepled church, and original colonial homesteads feels less like visiting a modern town and more like stepping straight into a postcard from early America.