Portland, Michigan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Portland is a city in Ionia County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,789. The city is situated in the south central portion of Portland Township, but is politically independent.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.5 km² (2.5 mi²). 6.2 km² (2.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (4.76%) is water.
[edit] Portland's Historic Bridges
Portland has a total of four historic metal truss bridges, all preserved, within the town. All are significant structures for the state of Michigan. Three of them are two-span structures, making them highly significant when compared to most metal truss bridges in Michigan which are only single span structures. The other is a Parker truss, and is one of only three such structures left in Michigan. One of Portland's bridges is the downtown Bridge Street Bridge, which still serves vehicular traffic in its original location. It is a two-span pin connected Pratt through truss built by the Groton Bridge Company of Groton, New York in 1890. The other three bridges in town were relocated from their original locations to a non-motorized recreation trail system that exists in the town. One was acquired from nearby Kent County and was moved from Burroughs Street over the Flat River to its current location in town over the Looking Glass River. A two-span Warren pony truss with riveted connections, it is an extremely rare example of a multi-span pony truss in Michigan. The third bridge is the restored the Kent Street Bridge, moved from its original location over the Grand River just outside of town, to its current location over Grand River next to I-96. It is an impressive example of the pin connected Parker truss configuration, which is partially characterized by an attractive arch shape. Finally, Portland's railroad truss bridge, a two-span pin connected Pratt truss bridge over the Grand River, was converted for pedestrian use. While perhaps the least significant of the Portland bridges, it is still impressive as a two-span structure. There is another truss bridge about 2 miles downstream from the Portland Dam. Located on Goodwin Road, it is no longer in operation and in disrepair, but serves as a popular swimming hole in the Grand River.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 3,789 people, 1,507 households, and 1,054 families residing in the city. The population density was 609.6/km² (1,577.7/mi²). There were 1,574 housing units at an average density of 253.2/km² (655.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.68% White, 0.50% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% 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 for the city was $20,028. About 5.7% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.1% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
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