Walk the village
Historical Village & Museum
Use the Franklin County Fairgrounds west entrance at 4100 Columbia Street for driving and parking.
Check visitor information ↗From Hilliard’s Station to today
The railroad made the map. People made the community.
John Reed Hilliard laid out the town beside the Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroad in 1853. Farms gained a shipping point, Main Street grew beside the tracks, and the village carried the founder’s name.
Hilliard’s history is not only the story of growth. It is the work of families, teachers, merchants, railroad workers, public servants, and volunteers who chose to remember.
1853
John Hilliard plats Hilliard’s Station beside the new railroad.
1854
A post office opens; “Station” is dropped from the community’s name.
1869
The Village of Hilliard incorporates with 280 residents.
1960
Hilliard reaches city status after decades of residential growth.
1966
The Historical Society incorporates to preserve local pioneer life and records.
Today
Old Hilliard, Weaver Park, and the Archival Library connect new generations with the city’s past.