Port Royal, Pennsylvania

Port Royal is a borough in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 815 at the 2020 census.^[4]

History

Port Royal used to be named Perrysville, after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. At the time, the Port Royal post office was located in Saint Tammany town, just across the Tuscarora Creek. However, the Pennsylvania Railroad brought increased traffic through the area and prompted a move of the Port Royal post office into Perrysville in 1847. In 1874, the borough took on the name itself and Saint Tammany became known as Old Port.

Throughout the history of Port Royal, the general population was almost centered around agriculture. The rural counties within Port Royal include Turbett, Spruce Hill and Milford Townships, otherwise known as the Tuscarora Valley.

Port Royal (and Perrysville before it) once was a stop on the old main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Port Royal was, in fact, one of the first towns to be linked to the Pennsylvania Railroad system, as it lay along the Lewistown-to-Harrisburg stretch of the railroad—the first leg constructed after the new railroad was chartered. Located along the Juniata River, many forms of transportation passed through the small town as a result of the river being an essential transportation "highway" before automobiles.^[5]

However, the Pennsylvania Railroad station no longer exists. Port Royal was also the northern terminus of the Tuscarora Valley Railroad, a narrow-gauge railroad serving southern Juniata and northern Franklin counties. The railroad was decommissioned in the 1930s.

From the PRR station during the

Port Royal is located at 40°32′0″N 77°23′15″W / 40.53333°N 77.38750°W / 40.53333; -77.38750 (40.533257, -77.387619).^[6]

Port Royal is located 40 miles northwest of

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), of which 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) (4.35%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

There were 398 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $34,514, and the median income for a family was $39,479. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $22,841 for females. The

Juniata County Fair

The first fair was held in Port Royal in 1852 and there has been an annual fair in the town thereafter. In 1887 the original fairgrounds south of town were found to lack adequate space and a larger tract of land was purchased north of the town, from Smith Kepner, in what is now known as the Juniata County Fair Grounds. Beginning as primarily a showcase for agrarian enterprise, the fair has slowly changed so that today it has much less of its agrarian roots. In 1953 weekly summer automobile racing began on a track that was originally built for horse racing and this activity has played a large part in focusing attention on the town during the summer months.

Notable person

• Fred Frankhouse, Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher

See also

• Port Royal Speedway

References

External links

• Port Royal 200th Anniversary website