| Port Orange |
Logo |
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| Location in Volusia County and the state of Florida |
| U.S. Census Bureau map showing city limits |
| Coordinates: 29°7′8″N81°0′10″W / 29.11889, -81.00278 |
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  Florida |
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| County | Volusia |
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| Incorporated | 26 April 1867 |
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| Government |
| - Type | Council-Manager |
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| - Mayor | Allen Green |
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| - City Manager | Kenneth W. Parker |
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| Area[1] 1 |
| - City | 26.67 sq mi (69.1 km²) |
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| - Land | 24.71 sq mi (64.0 km²) |
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| - Water | 1.97 sq mi (5.1 km²) 7.4% |
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| Elevation[2] 3 | 3 ft (2 m) |
| Population (1 July 2006)[3] 2 |
| - City | 54,851 |
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| - Density | 1,854.7/sq mi (716.1/km²) |
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| - Metro | 496,575 |
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| | 2006 estimates |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
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| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
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| ZIP code | 32123, 32127-32129 |
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| Area code(s) | 386 |
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| FIPS code | 12-58575[4] |
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| GNIS feature ID | 0295559[5] |
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| Website:http://www.port-orange.org |
Port Orange is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population as 52,793. [3] The city is part of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area; the metropolitan area's 2006 population was estimated at 496,575.[6]
Geography
Port Orange is located at 29°7′8″N,81°0′10″W (29.118970, -81.002906)[7]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.7 mi² (69.1 km²). 24.7 mi² (64.0 km²) of it is land and 2.0 mi² (5.1 km²) of it (7.39%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 45,823 people, 19,574 households, and 13,232 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,854.7/mi² (716.0/km²). There were 21,102 housing units at an average density of 854.1/mi² (329.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.59% White, 1.58% African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.51% of the population.
There were 19,574 households out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the city the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,783, and the median income for a family was $44,684. Males had a median income of $32,147 versus $22,391 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,628. About 5.0% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Port Orange is characterized by a stable and successful business climate that develops, nurtures and embraces quality businesses and industries.
Recent studies show the workforce to be educated, productive and competitive with 10 percent under-employed. Seven highly ranked colleges and universities and the acclaimed Advanced Technology Center support business needs with career advancement, workforce development and research.
Education, health care and government are the area’s largest employers. Mostly small and successful manufacturing enterprises play an increasing role in the global marketplace. A new hub of medical and health care suppliers/manufacturers complements Port Orange’s new Halifax Hospital and new Palmer College of Chiropractic.
Among the numerous corporate partners that call Port Orange home are:
- Halifax Community Health System (hospitals/health care)
- Northstar Food Service (food distributor)
- Thompson Pump (pump manufacturer)
- Don Bell Industries (sign manufacturer)
- Meypack Packing Systems USA (robotic automation)
- La-Man Inc. (air filter manufacturer)
- Sun Coast Imaging (medical imaging)
- Marble Slab Creamery (ice cream)
- Trucker Nutz (automotive accessories)
- Orbiter Online (web hosting and BBS)
Shopping
- Commonwealth Shopping Center
- Countryside Station Shopping Center
- Dunlawton Square Shopping Center
- Park Plaza Shopping Center
- Ravenwood Square Shopping Center
- Riverwood Shopping Center
- Wal-Mart Super Center
- Westport Square Shopping Center
Education
Public primary and secondary education is handled by Volusia County Schools.
- Horizon Elementary School
- Spruce Creek Elementary School
- Sugar Mill Elementary School
- Cypress Creek Elementary School
- Sweetwater Elementary School
- Port Orange Elementary School
- Creekside Middle School
- Silver Sands Middle School
- Atlantic High School
- Spruce Creek High School
View Larger Map
Colleges and Universities
Port Orange is the home of the Florida campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic, which is one of the most influential schools in the field. The campus in Port Orange was founded in 2002.
Notable residents
- Mark Martin, NASCAR driver
- Mike Skinner, NASCAR driver
History
Port Orange’s history is rich and unique. Starting with the prehistoric peoples of the land, namely the Timucuan and Seminole Indians, and with Dr. Andrew Turnbull’s New Smyrna Colony in 1768 during Florida’s plantation period, this area was full of explorers and efforts to tame this wild, unforgiving environment. Beside the New Smyrna Colony, another attempt to transform this area into a viable cash crop producing land came when Patrick Dean was granted 995 acres in 1804 from the Spanish Crown which later was named the Dunlawton Plantation. The Dunlawton Sugar Mill on Old Sugar Mill Road still stands having withstood these many years and being destroyed twice by Seminole Indians during the Second Seminole Indian War of 1836.
The second major era for Port Orange occurred after the Civil War. Dr. John Milton Hawks, an abolitionist and United States Army Surgeon, along with other Union Army officers formed the Florida Land and Lumber Company and brought 500 freed slaves to public lands along the Halifax River, north of Spruce Creek in 1866. Dr. Hawks moved the settlement he was credited with naming Orange Port in February 1867 from the Mosquito Inlet (Ponce Inlet) to where the community lies today. By April 1867, not only did the settlement’s name change to Port Orange because another town in the United States already had the former name, but the fortunes of the settlement had changed as well. Only nine families remained by 1869 and the hopes and dreams of those freed slaves for a new life went with the economic decline of the settlement due to poor planning and unproductive harvests.
What did remain was the settlement’s African-American roots. Unofficially known as Freemanville and now located around the intersection of Orange Avenue and Charles Street, all that remains of this small freed slave community today is the Mount Moriah Baptist Church (built in 1911) on Orange Ave. which still provides a place of worship to the descendants of those original settlers.
TOP PHOTOS: On the left is a photo from the 1950s of the northwest corner of US 1 and Dunlawton. Today the 7-11 store is on that corner. The photo on the right is of the Dunlawton Causeway Bridge in the 1970s. This draw bridge was the second bridge in Port Orange that provided access to the beach. The first was constructed early in the 1900s but destroyed by a hurricane in 1932. Constructed in 1952, this bridge was replaced by the current superspan bridge in 1990. PHOTOS BELOW: The photo on the left is from the early 1900s of the old Riverview Inn located at the northwest corner of Halifax Drive and Dunlawton. The inn change names over the years (was known as the Alligator Inn for a time) and eventually it was operated as the Riverview Apartments. It was demolished December 1996. On the right is a 1960s photo of the Halifax River. Noted features in the photo is the Dunlawton Causeway and Seabird Island Mobile Home Park.
Sister city
Crime Statistics
References
External links
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- Port Orange, Florida is at coordinates 29°07′08″N81°00′11″W / 29.11897, -81.002906 (Port Orange, Florida)Coordinates: 29°07′08″N81°00′11″W / 29.11897, -81.002906 (Port Orange, Florida)
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