Hilliard

History

In 1852, John Reed Hilliard bought of farmland in western Franklin County, Ohio from Hoseah High and Abraham Wendell. Geographically, the Hilliard area is between Big Darby Creek on the west and the Scioto River on the east. Originally called Hilliard's Station, the town grew around the railroad route of the Piqua and Indiana Railroad station, which bisected the former Hilliard farmland. Hilliard's Station served as an ideal shipping point for agricultural products going to market and supplies coming to the farmers in the area. The original Hilliard area was platted by John Hilliard on September 1, 1853. Until the mid 20th century, the railroad station and Main Street were the town center. In 1854, a post office was established in Hilliard's Station and the word Station was dropped from the town name. The Village of Hilliard became incorporated on July 13, 1869, with a population of 280 residents. In 1886 the first railroad station was located on the north side of the tracks, west of Main Street, and remained there until 1962 when all railroad services ceased. The original train station has been restored and remains in Hilliard's historical Weaver Park. The original platted area contained a mix of residences and businesses of varying ages and architecture. The construction of three large residential subdivisions in the 1950s brought explosive growth to Hilliard. The connection to the Columbus regional sewer and water systems in the 1960s opened up the area to development. The Village of Hilliard gained city status officially from the Ohio Secretary of State by attaining a population of 5,633 on December 12, 1960. With the completion of the I-270 outerbelt in the early 1970s, a second wave of explosive growth came to the area. Land uses in Hilliard continue to be a…

Geography

Hilliard is bordered on the east by Columbus and Upper Arlington, on the north by Columbus and Dublin, on the south by Galloway and Columbus, and to the west lies open farmland. Downtown Columbus lies in a distance to the southeast, its skyline visible at times when crossing bridges. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  61,551
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  57,905
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  46,899
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  44,394
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  40,337
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  39,779
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  38,682
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  37,922

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2026-02-22
  2 km NE of Hillsboro, Ohio
• M 2.9 — 2023-12-09
  5 km W of Jackson Center, Ohio