Hillsboro Residential Historic District

East of Hillsboro's commercial center lies a residential neighborhood of roughly 250 houses, three brick churches and one surviving early school, spread over about 83 acres. Most homes date from 1890 to 1930 and are built largely of wood, with uniform setbacks, tree-lined streets and informally landscaped lawns. The styles range from elaborate two-story Queen Anne houses with turrets, verandas and carved trim to transitional Victorian, Classical Revival, Mediterranean Revival and bungalow types. Architect Tom Sowell designed some of the larger Victorian houses. The neighborhood grew after the railroad arrived, when subdivisions such as the Craig and Marshall additions were laid out east of the courthouse square and affluent residents built homes there. Its residents included civic leaders, bankers, merchants and industrialists, among them A.J. Thompson, who planted trees along Corsicana Street. The Patterson Institute, a private school established in 1891, once stood here but has been demolished. Modern infill and a hospital building are the main intrusions.