Porter

Porter is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County in southeastern Texas. In 2010, its population was estimated at 25,769. The area is unofficially defined by its zip code of 77365 due to the presence of a post office by that name in the area. No incorporated municipalities are within this zip code, with the census designated place of Porter Heights also having no official status beyond its use for census purposes. New Caney Independent School District defines for the purposes of its attendance zones the entire zip code as representing the entire "city" of Porter. In the United States House of Representatives, Porter is part of District 8, represented by Republican Kevin Brady. The U.S. Postal Service Porter Post Office is located at 23550 Partners Way. As of June 2022, the county commissioner for the precinct is James Metts, who will become Porter's county commissioner as of June 2023. Porter is a part of the New. Caney School District based on the Forest Caney school district based on Forest Valley School District. It became a public school district in 1965. The town is in the Houston area of southeastern Montgomery County, just north of the Kingwood area of Houston. It is within the HoustonThe WoodlandsSugar Land metropolitan area. The earliest settlement in east Montgomery County developed in what is now New Caney, north of Porter, along the banks of Caney Creek. A group of cattle ranchers settled the area in the 1860s. When the Houston, East and West Texas Railroad built through the late 1870s and early 1880s, an influx of settlers moved to various points along the new railway. In 1953, the post office decided to drop the "s" from the town's name.

Geography

As an unincorporated community, Porter does not have officially defined geographical boundaries. Instead, the area is unofficially defined by its zip code of 77365 due to the presence of a post office by that name in the area. No incorporated municipalities are within this zip code, with the census designated place of Porter Heights also having no official status beyond its use for census purposes. New Caney Independent School District defines for the purposes of its attendance zones the entire zip code as representing the entire "city" of Porter. The town of Porter is located in the eastern part of the county, near the Texas-Oklahoma border. It has a population of around 2,000. The city of Porter has a total population of about 3,000, with most of its residents living in the town of about 1,000 people. It is the only town in the county that is not considered an incorporated municipality by the U.S. Census Bureau. The community is home to one of the largest oil refineries in the United States, with more than 1,200 employees. The population of Porter also has the highest rate of home ownership in the state of Texas, with nearly 80% of the population living in or near the town's downtown area. It also has a high rate of homeownership, with about 70% of its population living within the city limits. The majority of the city's residents live in or around the town limits of Porter and the surrounding towns of Caney and Pecos.

History

The earliest settlement in east Montgomery County developed in what is now New Caney, just north of Porter. A group of cattle ranchers settled in the area in the 1860s, with the first reported settlement in 1862. When the post office opened in 1892, the town was referred to as "Porters," in reference possibly to a denied petition to name the town "Porter's Mill" In 1953, thePost Office decided to drop the "s," resulting in the town's current name of Porter, Texas. The town is located along the Houston, East and West Texas Railroad, which was built in the late 1870s and early 1880s.

Demographics

In the 2010 United States Census, Zip Code 77365, generally defined as the unofficial boundary of Porter, had 25,769 people, 8,534 households, and 6,620 families. In the 2018 American Community Survey, the median household income was $73,873. Median earnings were $42,284 for males and $24,908 for females. 9.1% of families and 10. 1% of all people had an income below the poverty level. The average household size was 3.00, the average family size was3.39, and the median family income was $81,016. The area is predominantly white, with 2.8% African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaskan Native, 1.2% Asian, 13.0% were some other race, and 2.3% were two or more races. The racial makeup of the area was 79.8%, with the median age of 18 being 38.1 years old. In 2010, the area had a population of 25.769, with a median income of $73.873, and a per capita income of $33,905. In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the area's population to be 25.2, with the average age of 40 being 39.5 years old, and an average household age of 3.39. The median family Income was $81.016, and per capita Income was  $33.905.

Government and infrastructure

As an unincorporated community, Porter does not have its own municipal government. All local administrative duties are handled at the county level by Montgomery County, precinct 4. In the Texas Senate, Porter is in District 4, represented by Republican Brandon Creighton. Porter is part of District 8 in the United States House of Representatives. The United States Postal Service Porter Post Office is located at 23550 Partners Way. State Highway 99, also known as the Grand Parkway, travels through Porter. It is the outermost beltway surrounding Houston. Farm to Market Road 1314 runs from Porter to Conroe. Interstate 69, which is combined with U.S. Highway 59, connects Porter to Houston. The town is located on the Texas-Louisiana border and is located in the Houston-Galveston Metropolitan Statistical Area (HSM) The town has a population of 1,816. It has an average annual rainfall of 1.7 inches (4.2 m) and an average yearly temperature of 1 °C (3.7 °F). The town's average yearly rainfall is 1.8 inches (5.3 m), which is lower than the national average of 2.1 inches (6.4 mm) and the average annual temperature of 3.9 degrees (7.1 m). Porter has a daily average rainfall of 0.6 inches (1.0 cm) and a yearly average temperature of 0 °°F (2.0°C).

Education

New Caney Independent School District is a public school district based in New Caney, Texas.Students in grades K-5 attend one of the following schools: Porter Elementary, Bens Branch Elementary, Valley Ranch Elementary, Kings Manor Elementary, Pine Valley Middle School. Students in grades 9-12 attend the following school: Porter High School and Infinity Early College High School. The district is based in southeastern Montgomery County just north of Porter. The school district was formed in 1965. It is part of the Montgomery County School District, which also includes parts of Piedmont and Pecos counties. It has an enrollment of about 2,000 students, mostly in elementary and middle school. It also has a high school with more than 1,200 students in grades 8-12. It was founded in 1965 and covers an unincorporated area of southeasternMontgomery County. It includes the town of Porter, as well as parts of the towns of Peculier and Pinedale. The current superintendent of the school district is Ronald L. Brown, who has been in his position since 2007. He is the district's longest-serving member, having been in charge of the district since the beginning of the 2010-11 school year. He was first elected to the position in 2006. He has served as superintendent since 2007, and is currently in his third term. The superintendent is Robert L. Smith, who was in his first term in office in 2008, and has served in the position since the start of the 2011-12 school year in 2008.

Media representation

The 1957-1959 CBS Western television series Trackdown, starring Robert Culp, was set in a fictional Porter. Trackdown was the first of a series of Western television shows to be called Trackdown. The series was canceled in 1959 after four seasons. It was followed by a spin-off series, Trackdown II, set in the same town. The show was canceled again in 1959. The final episode of Trackdown aired in 1959 on CBS. It is now known as Trackdown: The Last Frontier, which aired on CBS from 1959 to 1961. The last episode was aired on September 14, 1959. It featured the character of Porter. The character was played by Robert Culpepper, who died in a car crash in 1959, and was portrayed by actor John Cusack in the series' second episode, "Trackdown II" It was the last of the series to be made into a movie. The film was released in 1961 and was based on the novel "Porter's Daughter" by Charles M. Schlossberg. The movie was a box office success and was adapted into a TV series, " trackdown" (1957-1958) and "Track down" (1960-1961). It was also the first western to feature a female lead, played by Barbara Streisand, in which Culp played the role of the title character. The TV series also featured a male lead, who played the main character in the second episode of the first season, and a female co-star.