{"nrhp_refnum":"84003727","name":"Hillsboro Historic Business District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Beech, Walnut, East and West Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hillsboro","county":"Highland County","state":"OH","lat":39.20263915100006,"lon":-83.6121479686731,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-04-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Economics","Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A compact 16-acre commercial historic district in the center of Hillsboro, Highland County, Ohio, centered on Main and High Streets around the county courthouse and jail. It holds 83 sites, mostly 19th-century brick commercial buildings.","why_significant":"The district is argued to be significant for its representative cross-section of 19th-century commercial architecture in six styles and for its long role as Hillsboro's business center. It also reflects the town's commercial, industrial, banking and theatrical development between 1807 and 1900. Of 83 sites, 79% are anchor or contributing buildings.","narrative":"Hillsboro's central business district covers about 16 acres around the Highland County Courthouse and Jail, with buildings fronting Main and High Streets. Of 83 sites, 30 are classed as anchor buildings and 36 as contributing, while 17 are intrusions from new construction or inappropriate remodeling. Most buildings are two- to four-story brick commercial blocks from the 1800s, built in Italianate, Queen Anne, French Second Empire, Richardsonian, Federal Influence and Greek Revival styles. Eighteen are Italianate. Three buildings were already individually recognized: the Bell Opera House, the courthouse and the Bell Foundry. The area has served as the town's commercial center since Hillsboro's founding in 1807. Early tanyards, stores, taverns, mills, foundries and banks operated here, and many log-built business structures were rebuilt between 1850 and 1900. The Colony Theatre, an Art Deco building from about 1940, adds a later element to the streetscape. Storefronts have often been altered, but upper floors largely keep their original character.","period_of_significance":"1807-1900","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate, Federal Influence, Queen Anne, French Second Empire, Richardsonian, Federal/Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still serves as the town's Central Business District; condition marked excellent and altered, with some first-story storefront changes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.368751-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/84003727.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989331","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/highland-county/hillsboro-historic-business-district-84003727/"}