Electricity Rates in Portsmouth, OH

History of Portsmouth

The area was occupied by Native Americans as early as 100 BC, as indicated by the Portsmouth Earthworks, a ceremonial center built by the Ohio Hopewell culture between 100 and 500 AD.According to early 20th-century historian Charles Augustus Hanna, a Shawnee village was founded at the site of modern-day Portsmouth in late 1758, following the abandonment of Lower Shawneetown.European-Americans began to settle in the 1790s after the American Revolutionary War, and the small town of Alexandria was founded. Located at the confluence, Alexandria was flooded numerous times by the Ohio and the Scioto rivers.In 1796, Emanuel Traxler became the first person of European descent to permanently occupy land in what would later be known as Portsmouth, after the United States gained its independence.In 1803, Henry Massie found a better location slightly east and somewhat removed from the flood plains. He began to plot the new city by mapping the streets and distributing the land. Portsmouth was founded in 1803 and established as a city in 1815. It was designated as the county seat. Settlers left Alexandria, and it soon disappeared. Massie named Portsmouth after the town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.The Ohio state legislature passed "Black Laws" in 1804 that restricted movement of free blacks and required persons to carry papers, in an effort to dissuade blacks from settling in the state.

Portsmouth by the Numbers

Population

26,972

Median Age

39.6 yrs

Median Household Income

$37,345/yr

Median Home Value

$98,100

Homeownership Rate

53%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023)