Porterfield is a town in Marinette County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. The population was 1,991 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of Bagley Junction,

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English f ...

, Porterfield, Rubys Corner, and

Walsh Walsh may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walsh (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters Places Australia * Mount Walsh, Mount Walsh National Park Canada * Fort Walsh, one of the first Royal Canadian Mounted ...

are located in the town.

History

The Town of Porterfield was separated from the original two townships in the county, Marinette and Peshtigo, on March 26, 1887. It was named after a local farmer and businessman, John Porterfield.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 53.3 square miles (138.1 km²), of which, 51.8 square miles (134.1 km²) of it is land and 1.5 square miles (4.0 km²) of it (2.89%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,991 people, 770 households, and 603 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 848 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.95%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.10%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.05% Native American, 0.05% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.10% of the population. There were 770 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.91. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $46,898, and the median income for a family was $50,676. Males had a median income of $36,914 versus $23,958 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $19,025. About 4.2% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Porterfield is home to the annual Porterfield Country Music Festival, a weekend of open-air concerts held every summer which draws both local and nationally known

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artists such as

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, and was a pioneering contribution to Southern rock and progressive country. He was ...

Crystal Gayle Brenda Gail Webb (born January 9, 1951), known professionally as Crystal Gayle, is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

, and

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

. Artists who appeared at the 2005 Porterfield Country Music Festival included:

Juice Newton Juice Newton (born Judith Kay Newton; February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 198 ...

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American vocal quartet. The classic and most well-known lineup of the group, which performed together for over 40 years, consisted of William Lee Golden (baritone), Duane Allen (lead), Richard Sterban (bass), and Joe ...

, SHeDaisy,

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, when Kristen Hall (vocals, gu ...

, and

Trick Pony Trick Pony was an American country music group from Nashville, Tennessee. It was formed in 1999 by Heidi Newfield (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Keith Burns (lead guitar, vocals), and Ira Dean (bass guitar, vocals). They recorded thre ...

Notable people

* Stan Gruszynski (born 1949), politician

References

External links

Porterfield Country Music Festival
{{authority control Towns in Marinette County, Wisconsin Marinette micropolitan area Towns in Wisconsin