The name is derived from the Earl of Hillsborough, to whom large grants of land were made by the English Crown during one of the periods of English possession of Florida that alternated with Spanish ownership. Florida came under the flag of the United States by purchase from Spain in 1819.
The Hillsboro Lighthouse, completed in 1907, marks the northern end of the Florida Reef. It contains a 5,500,000 candlepower light and is the most powerful light on the east coast of the United States. Its height is 136 feet above the water.
