Porterdale was incorporated on March 10, 1917, and was named after Oliver S. Porter, a local mill owner.
Geography
Porterdale is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, all land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,281 people, 463 households, and 333 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,241.3 people per square mile. There were 487 housing units at an average density of 471.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 92.58% White, 4.92% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.55% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.87% of the population. There were 463 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couplesliving together, 18.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.22. In the town, the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median agewas 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $23,967, and the median income for a family was $30,398. Males had a median income of $28,409 versus $20,962 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,812. About 18.7% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.6% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over. Porterdale, Ga is one of many small towns that were based around textile mills. The mills were the centerpiece of the area and employed the majority of the local population. These towns were largely founded in the early 1900s. The advent of the global economy has sent these "mill towns" into economic collapse in the latter part of the 20th century. Porterdale is mainly known for its textile mill which still runs today. Formerly the Bibb Company and later Dan River, Porterdale resides straddling the Yellow River where the Mill used to get its power from. The old part of the mill which is alongside the dam on the Yellow River is Mill Loft apartments. In the eighties and nineties, the mill alongside the dam was a flea market that housed many events including wrestling. The nature of the closeness of the houses in this "mill town" extend to the closeness of the community.
