Local Native American groups had lived in the Hillsborough area for thousands of years by the time Spanish explorers entered the region. The Great Indian Trading Path, used by generations of Native Americans, crossed the Eno River in this area. Siouan-language tribes such as the Occaneechi and the Eno were living in the Hillsborough area at the time of European contact. The explorer John Lawson recorded visiting "Occaneechi Town" here when he traveled through North Carolina in 1701. The tribes suffered losses due to infectious disease and conflicts with settlers; most of the remainder were eventually pushed out by European settlers.