Hillsborough

The town of Hillsborough, was formed when members of the Burlingame Country Club decided that the Village of Burlingame was becoming too commercial.  It sits on land that was part of Rancho San Mateo, William Davis Merry Howard’s vast property that was purchased from the Mexican governor Pio Pico in 1846.  The Rancho was so large that after Howard’s death, the land was parceled into plots large enough to serve as estates for wealthy San Francisco businessmen who wanted to live “in the country” and commute to the city.

Several of the original mansions still stand today.  Harriet Pullman Carolan, the heiress to the Pullman Railway Car fortune, built Carolands and it still remains as one of the largest private residences in the United States today.

William Crocker, grandson of Charles Crocker, built Skyfarm in 1930.  Today it houses 
Nueva Day School and the former estate lands have many homes.

Crystal Springs Uplands High School was originally the Uplands mansion, a gift of Templeton Crocker to his fiancée Helene Irwine , heiress to the C&H Sugar fortune in 1912.  The surrounding land is built with homes.

William Randolph Hearst built the “Western White House”, a mansion of similar structure to his Heart Castle, and it is currently privately owned.

Today, Hillsborough is still renowned for its wealth and diversity.  The trees and wooded hillsides add to the towns beauty.  The three elementary schools and one intermediate school score among the highest scoring 
in the State of California.  The town sits just above El Camino Real and below 280.  Most homes are in the hills and many have beautiful views of the bay, San Francisco and the canyons.

There is no downtown, no industry, and only one park.  When the town incorporated in 1910, they 
passed zoning laws forbidding any business and practically none exist there even today (except we know many people work from their homes in Hillsborough).  There is one public golf course across 280 abutting the Crystal Springs Reservoir, a racquet club, the private Burlingame Country Club, and several private schools.  Residents are orientated to Burlingame or San Mateo for most of their shopping.  Hillsborough is truly a bedroom community close to San Francisco or Silicon Valley and a hop, skip and jump to SFO.

The 2010 Census shows Hillsborough has a population of 10,825 residents. Hillsborough holds the distinction of being one of the wealthiest communities in America and has the one of the highest per capita incomes in the US of .  All homes are single family and generally sit on lots of half acre or more.