Port Carbon is a borough of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, two miles northeast of Pottsville. It is in a coal-mining area; in the past, ironworks had been a feature of the borough. In 1900, 2,168 people lived here; in 1910, 2,678 people were inhabitants of Port Carbon. The population was 1,889 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Port Carbon is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of, all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,019 people, 846 households, and 577 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,638.6 people per square mile. There were 927 housing units at an average density of 1,211.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 99.11% White, 0.54% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races, and 0.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population. There were 846 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couplesliving together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.91. In the borough the population was spread out with 20.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $30,875, and the median income for a family was $37,939. Males had a median income of $30,165 versus $20,872 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,496. About 5.2% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
History
Port Carbon was founded by Abraham Pott, son of John Pott who founded Pottsville in 1806. Port Carbon was the site of the first lock on the Schuylkill Canal, on its route for transport of coal to Philadelphia. Robert Allison a local industrialist, purchased the first commercially manufactured automobile, a Winton.
