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- Town
2,466
74%
$39,698
20%
America/New_York
15946
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Here in 'Portage', we have a diverse tapestry of residents. Some have roots that run deep, their knowledge steeped in the rich history of our town. Others are students, dedicated to keeping us updated on school activities, while many are committed to sharing the ebb and flow of daily life.
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Portage, PA - History
We would like to provide the residents of Portage a basic history overview.
Welcome to the Portage Home page. The Portage Home page provides as much information as possible on Portage. Knowing Portage’s history is essential to guiding its future. Within Portage’s Home page, you will also find Portage’s Founders, Holiday, and Birthday sections.
Portage has a population of 2466. 51.1% of Portage’s inhabitants are Male, and 48.9 are female. 42.2% of Portage is married and 73.8% own their own home. The Average Home price is $75,600, and the average rent is $480. Household median income in Portage is $39,698, and the individual median income is $28,582. Portage’s Ethnic is the following: White(97.6%), Multiple(1.6%), Asian(0.4%), Black(0.4%), Hispanic(0.1%).
The history of Portage as a community began with the building and opening of the Allegheny-Portage Railroad (APRR) in 1834. Due to its location on the APRR, Portage was originally called “Foot of Two” as it was the located at the bottom of Inclined Plane No. 2. The APRR would build their headquarters a few hundred feet west of the foot (bottom) of Plane No.
2. The headquarters consisted of offices and a shop complex. Also near the foot of the incline was the Washington House Hotel that served as a place to stay for travelers. “Foot of Two” was eventually renamed “Portage.” The definition of portage is: carrying boats, goods, etc., overland from one body of water to another Today, Pennsylvania Route 53 follows the route of the APRR through Portage.
With advancements in locomotive technology, Inclined Plane No. 2 was bypassed in 1852. By 1854, the Allegheny Portage Railroad was considered obsolete due to the Pennsylvania Railroad which traveled over the Alleghenys considerably faster and safer. At the same time, another company, the New Portage Railroad, was attempting to do the same, but in 1857, the Pennsylvania Railroad bought the New Portage railroad and abandoned it. Within a few years after the opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad, a facility was constructed for locomotives to stop to take on water and pick up wood to fire the boiler.
With the abundance of lumber and coal in Portage, many companies were formed to deforest and mine in the area. As a result of the new industries, a population boom occurred, and by the 1860s, a passenger station was built by the railroad along the mainline, which at the time traveled through the center of town on what is now the Sonman Branch Line. Portage Township was cut from Washington and Summerhill Townships on March 4, 1878.
On October 7, 1890, the borough of Portage was incorporated and cut from Portage Township. In the 1890s, the Pennsylvania Railroad was re-aligned from Lilly to Summerhill, changing the landscape of Portage and a new railroad station was built on Washington Avenue. The town continued to grow in size into the 1920s when it reached its peak population of 4,804 at the time of the 1920 United States Census.
The Washington Avenue PRR station remained open until 1926 when a new station was built on Lee Street. On July 15, 1940, what is known today as the Sonman Mine Explosion occurred at the Sonman Shaft Coal Co. near Portage. A total of 63 miners would perish when a methane gas explosion occurred. In 1960, a memorial to the miners who died in the explosion was dedicated in the Jamestown section of Portage.
It was later relocated to Crichton-McCormick Park in Portage. The Portage Station Museum offers a documentary about the disaster titled "63 Men Down: The Story of the Sonman Mine Explosion." The museum also offers exhibits on coal mining and railroading in the area. On November 17, 1953, the Pennsylvania Railroad ended passenger service to Portage.
The station would remain open into 1954 as a stop for the Railway Express Agency, but would close that year. The population in Portage Borough would stay steady, around 4,000, until the late 1970s. Since then, a steep drop in population would occur due to the closure of many of the coal mines in the region and much of the steel industry slowing in nearby Johnstown, as a result of the 1977 Johnstown Flood and imports of steel from foreign countries. To celebrate the town's centennial, a town festival, known as "Summerfest", was organized.
It has since been celebrated every year on the second weekend of August. The festival has many traditions including ethnic foods and a mass service on Sunday morning of that weekend. Another annual event held every year is the annual community yard sale, organized by the Portage Area Historical Society.
It is held on the second Saturday in June. The Portage Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Portage adopted a home rule charter on May 10, 1994, that took effect on January 1, 1996. Although the community kept "Borough of Portage" as its official name, it is no longer governed under the state's Borough Code.
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