Portal, Georgia

Portal, Georgia
Town
Location in Bulloch County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 32°32′14″N 81°55′54″W / 32.53722°N 81.93167°WCoordinates: 32°32′14″N 81°55′54″W / 32.53722°N 81.93167°W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Bulloch
Area
• Total	2.2 sq mi (5.6 km^2)
• Land	2.1 sq mi (5.5 km^2)
• Water	0.08 sq mi (0.2 km^2)
Elevation	295 ft (90 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	638
• Density	302/sq mi (116.6/km^2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	30450
Area code(s)	912
FIPS code	13-62216[1]
GNIS feature ID	0332735[2]

Portal is a town in Bulloch County, Georgia, United States. The population was 638 at the 2010 census.^[3]

Geography

Portal is located at 32°32′14″N 81°55′54″W / 32.53722°N 81.93167°W (32.537275, -81.931738).^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.6 km²), of which 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km²), or 2.99%, is water.^[3]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	374		—
1940	556		48.7%
1950	532		−4.3%
1960	494		−7.1%
1970	643		30.2%
1980	694		7.9%
1990	522		−24.8%
2000	597		14.4%
2010	638		6.9%
Est. 2015	617	[5]	−3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 597 people, 232 households, and 167 families residing in the town. The population density was 343.1 people per square mile (132.5/km²). There were 255 housing units at an average density of 146.0 per square mile (56.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 82.24% White, 15.24% African American, 0.17% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 1.17% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.17% of the population.

There were 232 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,268, and the median income for a family was $34,000. Males had a median income of $24,583 versus $19,375 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,514. About 8.2% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.0% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.

Myths and legends

• Black panthers - Many believe the area to be home to large black panthers. This was adopted for the Portal Middle/High mascot.
• "Stink Eye" Willy - An abandoned farm house on Banks Dairy Road is said to be haunted by local legend Stink Eye Willy, a farmer from 1943 who died shortly after being sprayed in the face by a skunk.
• Jimmy - a dude named Jimmy who fell out of a barn.

Notable people

• Brooks Brown (1985-), American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Brown attended Portal High School and played baseball there. He attended the University of Georgia, playing in college. He played for several minor league teams before being called up to the majors for the first time on July 6, 2014.
• Dr. Leila Denmark (1898–2012), a pediatrician, author and researcher who blazed trails for women in medicine, and lived to be 114
• Matthew L. Gibson (1985-), Science instructor emeritus at Portal High School and Curator of Natural History at the Charleston Museum.^[7] Gibson also published a Journal of Paleontology article naming a new species of pontoporiid dolphin, Auroracetus bakerae.^[8][9] He is a research member of the Don Sundquist Center for Excellence in Paleontology.^[10]
• Sebastian McBride, African-American man who was lynched by whites on August 27, 1904; the fourth lynching victim of white racial violence that month in Bulloch County^[11]
• Cameron Sheffield (1988-), American football defensive end who is a member of the Edmonton Eskimos. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
• Ruby Stone (1924–2013), born in Portal and later moved to Idaho, where she became a politician and was elected as a state legislator

JIMMY

References

1. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
2. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
3. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Portal town, Georgia". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
4. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
5. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
7. "About - Staff Directory". The Charleston Museum.
8. "Auroracetus bakerae Gibson & Geisler 2009". ION: Index to Organism Names. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
9. "A new pliocene dolphin (Cetacea: Pontoporiidae), from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina". Taylor & Francis Online. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
10. "Members". East Tennessee State University & General Shale Natural History Museum Visitor Center and Gray Fossil Site. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
11. Jenel Few, "Racial strife", Savannah Morning News, 20 August 2000; accessed 29 July 2016

External links

• Old Portal historical marker
• Upper Lotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery historical marker