Hillsborough Named 'Victory Town' On Historic Route

Hillsborough Township has joined a growing list of New Jersey communities using the Revolutionary War’s 250th-anniversary cycle to formalize their place on the Washington-Rochambeau route. The designation, known as “Victory Town,” comes from the National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association, or W3R-US, which is working with municipalities along the trail that traces the allied march to Yorktown. Hillsborough officials also accepted a $2,400 check from the Rotary Club tied to the township’s anniversary programming and a planned trail marker effort. The move folds a local history project into a broader national campaign ahead of the United States semiquincentennial in 2026. ### What exactly is a “Victory Town”? W3R-US says the “Victory Towns” program is for local governments located along the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, the path taken by American and French forces on the way to the 1781 Yorktown campaign. The group says participating towns can receive research support, educational materials, banners, speakers, reenactors and help pursuing historical markers. (w3r-us.org) The route itself was designated a National Historic Trail in March 2009, according to Crossroads of the American Revolution. In New Jersey, the trail follows present-day roads running from the New York border south toward Trenton, including parts of U.S. Routes 202 and 206. Hillsborough Township appears on W3R-US’s published Victory Towns list as a Somerset County municipality on the route. That places it among dozens of New Jersey communities that the organization identifies as witnesses to the allied march. (patch.com) ### Why does Hillsborough say this matters now? January 28, 2026, marked Hillsborough’s public rollout of its semiquincentennial plans, with township officials saying the year’s programming would include interactive historical maps and installation of a historic trail marker. (revolutionarynj.org) Deputy Mayor Shawn Lipani said at the Jan. 27 Township Committee meeting that the township was building on its own earlier 250th-anniversary commemoration. (w3r-us.org) Mayor Catherine Payne said in that announcement that residents would see additional project details and event announcements as the year progressed. The township had already joined RevolutionNJ, a state-linked partnership led by the New Jersey Historical Commission and Crossroads of the American Revolution Association for the state’s 250th-anniversary observances. (hillsboroughnj.gov) June 25, 2025, was the date Hillsborough announced both its 250th-anniversary planning committee and its RevolutionNJ community status. Those steps gave the township an administrative framework before the Victory Town recognition arrived. ### Where does the Rotary donation fit in? The $2,400 Rotary check attached local fundraising to the township’s public-history work. (hillsboroughnj.gov) Patch’s account of the Hillsborough event said the money was tied to the township’s 250th anniversary and trail marker effort. W3R-US has said the Victory Towns initiative is being paired with marker support through the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. In a 2025 description of the program, Patch reported that the foundation was offering fully funded marker grants for communities along the trail. (hillsboroughnj.gov) That means Hillsborough’s local donation and its Victory Town designation sit alongside a larger marker campaign already underway in New Jersey. (patch.com) W3R-US said in April that Manville had become the first Victory Town to obtain its marker and that the sign was expected to be installed soon. ### How does Hillsborough fit into the broader New Jersey push? April 2026 was a busy month for W3R-US in New Jersey, according to the organization’s own recap. (patch.com) The group said officials from Manville, Rocky Hill, Franklin and Montgomery joined a private tour of the Berthier Maps at Princeton University, while representatives from other municipalities attended a Victory Town gathering at Dey Mansion in Wayne. (w3r-us.org) May 2, 2026, was the publication date of W3R-US’s Hillsborough event recap, which described the township as being honored as a Victory Town and linked the designation to preservation of the allied march’s legacy. A separate W3R-US update also said Flounder Brewing in Hillsborough planned to release a “Victory Town Ale” in May through a collaboration with the organization. The next concrete step in Hillsborough’s own program is the township’s promised rollout of project details tied to its 2026 semiquincentennial calendar, including the interactive map and historic trail marker that officials outlined in January. (w3r-us.org) (hillsboroughnj.gov) (w3r-us.org)