Portland is a city in Ionia County of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The population was 3,796 at the 2020 Census. The city is situated in the south central portion of Portland Township and is known as the "City of Two Rivers" since it is the confluence of the Grand River and the Looking Glass River. Portland is home to Portland Public Schools and Portland Saint Patrick Catholic School.

History

According to government records, the first land that was owned in what is now known as Portland was owned by Elisha Newman in 1833. Ionia County histories say that Philo Bogue built a trading post on the Grand River later that year, the Bogue Flats Recreation Area now being named for him. The first post office arrived in 1837. Portland has been home to several Native American tribes, and was the dwelling-place of John Okemos in the 1850s. The first train arrived in Portland in 1869, the last train left in 1984 when the tracks were removed. The railroad bridge built in 1881 remains, having replaced an earlier wooden bridge built in 1869. The city used to get 6 passenger trains per day in 1881, three in each direction. Portland's growth in population led to becoming a Village in 1869 and a City in 1969. The opera house opened in 1880, and the Carnegie library in 1905.

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 city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 3,883 people, 1,640 households, and 1,039 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,797 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.7%

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 ...

, 0.7%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.4% 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 3.1% of the population. There were 1,640 households, of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% 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, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.6% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age in the city was 35.6 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.8% were from 25 to 44; 25% were from 45 to 64; and 13% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49% male and 51% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,789 people, 1,507 households, and 1,054 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,574 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.68%

, 0.50%

, 0.24% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.32% of the population. There were 1,507 households, out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were

living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,656, and the median income for a family was $57,875. Males had a median income of $39,344 versus $30,348 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 city was $20,028. About 5.7% of families and 6.6% 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 9.1% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Portland is a council-manager government, in which the city council appoints one of its members as mayor and another as mayor pro tem — a city council member with extra ceremonial duties who chairs council meetings in the mayor's absence. The city council consists of 5

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

council members who are elected in

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

elections. The registered voters of the City of Portland elect all members for either a 4-year term or a 2-year term. The elections are held in November of the odd year. The city council appoints the city manager, the city's chief administrative officer. The current mayor of Portland is James E. Barnes, who has been the acting Mayor since 2003. The city levies an income tax of 1 percent on residents and 0.5 percent on nonresidents.

Notable people

* Martia L. Davis Berry (1844–1894), political reformer * Clarence Budington Kelland (1881–1964), writer

References

External links

Portland official websitePortland Main StreetPortland District Library
{{Coord, 42, 52, 09, N, 84, 54, 11, W, type:city_region:US-MI, display=title Cities in Ionia County, Michigan Grand Rapids metropolitan area