Port Deposit, Maryland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Port Deposit is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 676 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 History
- 2.1 Architecture
3 Demographics
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Main Street in historic Port Deposit

Historic buildings in Port Deposit

Gerry House (to the left) was built in 1812. Lafayette was entertained here in 1824.

More houses along main street in Port Deposit.

Port Deposit is located at 39°36′39″N, 76°6′1″W (39.610915, -76.100172)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.3 km² (1.7 mi²), all land.

[edit] History

Sitting downstream of the Conowingo Dam (built 1927), the town would be subject to a major flood should the dam ever unleash enough water. Ironically it was annual high water from Spring Freshets (snow melts) that initially brought prosperity to the town, being the Northern most deep water port on the Susquehanna River, allowing access for ship traffic from the Chesapeake Bay. River barges loaded with lumber, grain, coal, whiskey, tobacco and other goods floated down river to this "port of deposit".

The town existed under several names as early as , but was not named Port Deporist until 1813. The entire town of Port Deposit was placed on the National Historic Registry on May 23, 1978.

[edit] Architecture

The town has a number of impressive older buildings, many of grantie or brick. The oldest structures in town historic district date from 1725 to 1928; the majority of these buildings were built from 1830 through 1890's.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 676 people, 264 households, and 163 families residing in the town. The population density was 156.3/km² (404.8/mi²). There were 402 housing units at an average density of 92.9/km² (240.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 78.85% White, 17.75% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.59% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63% of the population.

There were 264 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.1% were married couples living together, 21.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 109.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $34,167, and the median income for a family was $37,813. Males had a median income of $32,083 versus $21,932 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,297. About 19.4% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.4% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.