Founding Families | Ebenezer West |  Waite West  |  Increase Jones |  Hannah Jones  |  William Hill | Elizabeth Hill 
Edward Talbot  |  Sarah "Sally" Talbot  |  ​Absalom P Morse  | Lydia Morse  |   Alfred P White | Huldah White
​Robert Shaw  |  Jane Talbot Shaw

​William Hill Sr.

1762–1840
Mill Builder, Charter Church Member, Civic Founder

William Hill 
Important Dates

A New Beginning in the Wilderness

Around 1804, William Hill Sr., his wife Elizabeth, and their young son left Vermont for the developing settlement of Minerva. They came in response to an offer of land in Olmstedville in exchange for building both a sawmill and a gristmill.
At the time, Minerva was in its earliest stage of growth. Infrastructure was not a convenience — it was a necessity. A working mill meant lumber for building and grain for food. William accepted the challenge and constructed the first mills along Minerva Stream at the foot of what became known as Mill Hill.

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The Mills That Anchored a Community

William did not operate the mills for long, but the impact of his work endured. The mills passed through several owners — Alfred White, Edward Talbot, Wesley Sacket Barnes, and later Edward Lavery, and continued operating for more than seventy-five years. What began as William’s agreement to build essential infrastructure helped anchor Olmstedville’s economy for three generations.

Home and Family

William and Elizabeth built their home at the four corners in Olmstedville, at what is now the site of Sullivan’s Store at A.P. Morse Memorial Highway and County Route 29. There they raised a large family.
Census records suggest that William and Elizabeth were the parents of at least five sons and two daughters. Their son Warren went on to serve as Town Justice and Town Supervisor, continuing the Hill family’s civic involvement. The Hill home stood for more than a century before being lost to fire in 1930.

Civic and Spiritual Leadership

William quickly became a trusted member of the community. At Minerva’s first town meeting in 1817, he was elected assessor, fence viewer, and inspector of schools — positions that required judgment, fairness, and the confidence of his neighbors.
He was also a charter member of the Minerva Baptist Church in 1807, placing him among the town’s earliest spiritual as well as civic leaders.

Enduring Questions

 ​Public Life
1804 – Built Minerva’s first sawmill and gristmill
1807 – Charter member, Minerva Baptist Church
1817 – Elected assessor, fence viewer, and inspector of schools
1815–1879 – Mills continued operating under successive owners
Private Life
​c. 1804 – Established Hill family home in Olmstedville with wife Elizabeth
1810–1820s – Raised at least five sons and two daughters
1828 – Son William Jr. died in an axe accident
1840 – William died; buried in Gore Cemetery
1930 – Family home destroyed by fire

Private Life
​c. 1804 – Established Hill family home in Olmstedville
1810–1820s – Raised at least five sons and two daughters
1828 – Son William Jr. died in an axe accident
1840 – William died; buried in Gore Cemetery
1930 – Family home destroyed by fire

William died in 1840, and Elizabeth followed in 1845. Both are buried in the old Gore Cemetery. Elizabeth’s headstone remains; William’s does not — one of several small mysteries that surround this founding family.
Like many early settlers, pieces of the Hill story remain scattered in census records, church lists, and local histories. Yet the mills he built, the offices he held, and the family he raised firmly establish William Hill as one of the foundational figures in Minerva’s early years.

Closing Note (Quarterly Reference)A more detailed and fully documented biography of William and Elizabeth Hill, including census analysis and additional research findings, will appear in an upcoming issue of the Minerva Historical Society Quarterly.