In 1871, the Oregon and California Railroad line was extended to the area, but it ran just south of town because the city did not want to give the railroad land in exchange for the rail connection.[7] Hillsboro was incorporated as the Town of Hillsboro on October 19, 1876, by the Oregon Legislature.[11] The first mayor was A. Luelling, who took office on December 8, 1876, and served a one-year term.[12] Notable later mayors included Congressman Thomas H. Tongue (1882 and 1886) and state senator William D. Hare (1885).[12] On September 30, 1908, 5,000 people gathered as the Oregon Electric Railway opened a connection between the city and Portland with an interurban electric rail line, the first to reach the community.[13] In 1923, the city altered its charter and adopted a council-manager government with a six-person city council, a part-time mayor who determined major policies, and a city manager who ran day-to-day operations.[14]

A brick building was constructed in 1852 to house the county government, followed by a brick courthouse in 1873.[15] In 1891, the courthouse was remodeled and a clock tower was added,[16] and the building was expanded with an annex in 1912. A new courthouse replaced the brick structure in 1928. The last major remodel of the 1928 structure occurred in 1972, when the Justice Services Building was built and incorporated into the existing building.[15]

The city's first fire department was a hook and ladder company organized in 1880 by the board of trustees (now city council).[17] A drinking water and electricity distribution system added in 1892–93 gave the town three fire hydrants and minimal street lighting.[18] Hillsboro built its first sewer system in 1911, but sewage treatment was not added until 1936.[19] In 1913, the city built its own water system,[20] and the first library, Carnegie City Library, opened in December 1914.[21] From 1921 to 1952, the world's second-tallest radio tower stood on the south side of the city,[22] but in 1952, the wireless telegraph tower was demolished.

In 1972, the Hillsboro City Council passed a Green River Ordinance banning door-to-door solicitation, but it was ruled unconstitutional by the Oregon Supreme Court in a 1988 decision.[23] The court determined that the city ordinance was overly broad, in a case that was seen as a test case for many similar laws in the state.[23] In 1979, Intel opened its first facility in Hillsboro.[24] The Hawthorn Farm campus and was followed by the Jones Farm campus adjacent to the airport in 1982, and finally by the Ronler Acres campus in 1994.[24] TriMet opened a Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light rail line into the city in 1998. A cultural center was added in 2004 and a new city hall was completed in 2005. In 2008, SolarWorld opened a facility producing solar wafers, crystals, and cells, the largest plant of its type in the Western Hemisphere.[25]email marketing service
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