Portageville, Missouri

Overview

• Location: New Madrid County, Missouri
• Legal status: Fourth-class city
• Population: 3,295 (Change since 1990: -3.1%)
• Founded: 1872
• Name origin: Portage Bay
• Previously known as: Shinbone

Geography

• Located near intersections of I-55, US 61, and MO 162
• Latitude: 36°25'47" N   (+36.4298)
• Longitude: 89°42'04" W   (-89.7012)
• Elevation: 281 feet above sea level
• Civil township: Portage
• Land area: 2.0 square miles

As the crow flies, Portageville is...

• 3.0 miles NW of Hayward
• 3.6 miles S of Jaywye
• 3.8 miles NE of Boekerton
• 4.8 miles SW of Conran
• 6.2 miles NW of Stewart
• 6.4 miles N of Stanley
• 6.5 miles E of Frailie
• 7.2 miles W of Point Pleasant
• 7.5 miles NE of Swift
• 7.9 miles SW of Marston
• 61.3 miles S of Cape Girardeau
• 154.1 miles S of St. Louis

History

Name origin

Named for Portage Bay, a bayou in New Madrid County.

Previous names

The town started as the Shinbone Trading Post. The name changed with the opening of the post office in 1872.

Timeline

1848

Ed Meatte and Charles Davis opened the Shinbone Trading Post

1860

Plank Road opened, connecting Shinbone with Point Pleasant and Weaverville (Boekerton)

1872

Post office opened, name of town changed to Portageville

1900

Portageville incorporated

Demographics