Hillsboro West Virginia
“Center of the Little Levels”
Town of Hillsboro WV
The town of Hillsboro is located in Pocahontas County West Virginia and is a popular destination for tourists in the Allegheny Mountains. Hillsboro rests on a broad, level plain west of the Greenbrier River occupying an area of limestone flats known as the Little Levels. To help preserve the town’s deep history, a festival known as the “Little Levels Heritage Fair” is held annually in late June. The region has the finest limestone farming areas in West Virginia and is a popular retirement and second-home area. Many scenic farms extend outward from the town, across the levels, and into the surrounding mountains of the Monongahela National Forest.
Hillsboro is known for attracting many tourists with its local area restaurants and country markets. The town may best be known as the birthplace of author Pearl S. Buck, who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with her novel The Good Earth in 1932. The birthplace of Pearl S. Buck is still standing today and is open as a museum within Hillsboro.
Hillsboro is a popular destination for tourists. Beartown State Park and Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park are located south of the town on highway US-219. Watoga State Park, Calvin Price State Forest, and the Greenbrier River Trail are located west of town on the Greenbrier River. These State parks and National forest help boost the local tourism economy.
History of Hillsboro WV
Hillsboro was established in 1843 near the Greenbrier River and was incorporated in 1886. The town was named for a pioneer, John Hill, who created the formation of the town.
During the Civil War, Brigadier General W.W. Averell camped here in 1863 before the Battle of Droop Mountain, as well as after his raid on Salem, Virginia.
In the 1800s the town of Hillsboro centered on the educational institution Little Levels Academy. Established in 1842, the school closed 18 years later at the onset of the Civil War. In 1865, the county purchased the building and ran it as a public school through the 1880s, and it became a school of higher order for boys called Hillsboro Academy.
- Greenbrier River
- Greenbrier River Trail
- Beartown State Park
- Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park
- Watoga State Park
- Calvin Price State Forest
- Little Levels Heritage Fair
- Author Pearl S. Buck Birthplace & Museum
- Highland Scenic Highway
- Monongahela National Forest
- Cranberry Glades Botanical Area