Port Republic, Virginia

{{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Port Republic | native_name = | native_name_lang =  | settlement_type = Census-designated place | image_skyline = | image_alt = | image_caption = | image_flag = | flag_alt = | image_seal = | seal_alt = | image_shield = | shield_alt = | etymology = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = Port Republic CDP in Rockingham County, VA.svg | map_alt = | map_caption = Location of the Port Republic CDP within Rockingham County | pushpin_map = Virginia#USA | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Virginia | pushpin_label_position = right | coordinates = {{coord|38|17|21|N|78|48|48|W|region:US-VA_soure:GNIS|display=inline,title}} | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|United States}} | subdivision_type1 = [[States of the United States|State]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Virginia]] | subdivision_type2 = [[Counties of Virginia|County]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Rockingham County, Virginia|Rockingham]] | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | established_title = | established_date = 1802 | founder = | seat_type = | seat = | government_footnotes = | government_type = | governing_body = | leader_party = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | unit_pref = Metric  | area_footnotes = | area_urban_footnotes =  | area_rural_footnotes =  | area_metro_footnotes =  | area_magnitude =  | area_note = | area_water_percent = | area_rank = | area_blank1_title = | area_blank2_title =  | area_total_km2 = 5.94 | area_land_km2 = 5.79 | area_water_km2 = 0.15 | area_urban_km2 = | area_rural_km2 = | area_metro_km2 = | area_blank1_km2 = | area_blank2_km2 =  | area_total_ha = | area_land_ha = | area_water_ha = | area_urban_ha = | area_rural_ha = | area_metro_ha = | area_blank1_ha = | area_blank2_ha = | length_km = | width_km = | dimensions_footnotes = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = | population_as_of = 1832 | population_total = 160 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_note = | population_demonym = | timezone1 = | utc_offset1 = | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = | iso_code = | blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]] | blank_info = {{FIPS|51|63896}} | blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID | blank1_info = {{GNIS 4|2807441}} | website =  | footnotes = | mapsize = 266px }}

'''Port Republic''' is a [[census-designated place]] in [[Rockingham County, Virginia|Rockingham County]], [[Virginia]], United States. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], Port Republic had a population of 408.<ref name="Census2020PLLede">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=NAME%2CP1_001N&for=place%3A63896&in=state%3A51|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=March 13, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref> The [[Battle of Port Republic]] took place there during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. ==History== Port Republic was chartered as a town in 1802, at the confluence of the [[South River (Shenandoah River)|South River]] and the [[North River (Shenandoah River)|North River]], which join to form the [[South Fork Shenandoah River|South Fork of the Shenandoah River]]. This point was the [[head of navigation]] on this branch of the [[Shenandoah River|Shenandoah]],<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=A History of Rockingham County, Virginia|author=Wayland, J.W.|date=1912|publisher=Ruebush-Elkins Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCoSAAAAYAAJ|page=421|accessdate=2015-01-12}}</ref> and influenced the town's commercial and strategic importance.<ref name="jmu">{{cite web|url=http://web.jmu.edu/history/NewPortRepublic.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040928100641/http://web.jmu.edu/history/NewPortRepublic.html|archive-date=2004-09-28|url-status=dead|title=JMU Public History: Port Republic Study|accessdate=2015-01-12}}</ref>

By 1832 the town had a population of 160 people. Many mills were built there, the first one in 1745, because of the availability of water power, and the proximity to water transportation to the northern [[Shenandoah Valley]] and the [[Potomac River]].<ref name="google3">{{cite book|title=A History of Rockingham County, Virginia|author=Wayland, J.W.|date=1912|publisher=Ruebush-Elkins Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCoSAAAAYAAJ|page=422|accessdate=2015-01-12}}</ref> The [[Battle of Port Republic]] in June 1862 during [[Stonewall Jackson]]'s [[Jackson's Valley Campaign|Shenandoah Valley Campaign]] in the [[American Civil War]] centered on Port Republic.

After the Civil War, Port Republic remained a locus of commerce and industry, with two iron foundries in operation by 1866.<ref name="google3"/> Artifacts and documents of the town's founding and history are preserved at a museum in the town.<ref name="portrepublicmuseum">{{cite web|url=http://www.portrepublicmuseum.org/hours.html|title=Port Republic Museum | Hours/Directions|publisher=portrepublicmuseum.org|accessdate=2015-01-12}}</ref>

[[Bogota (Port Republic, Virginia)|Bogota]], [[Haugh House]], and [[Port Republic Historic District (Virginia)|Port Republic Historic District]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

[[James Madison (bishop)|James Madison]], the first bishop of the Diocese of Virginia of The Episcopal Church in the United States, was born in Port Republic in 1749. Not to be confused with his cousin (also named), [[James Madison]], who became the 4th President of the United States.

==Demographics== Port Republic first appeared as a [[census designated place]] in the [[2020 U.S. census]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=2020 Geography Changes|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/technical-documentation/table-and-geography-changes/2020/geography-changes.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Rockingham County, Virginia]] [[Category:Unincorporated communities in Virginia]] [[Category:Census-designated places in Rockingham County, Virginia]] [[Category:Census-designated places in Virginia]] [[Category:1802 establishments in Virginia]] [[Category:Populated places established in 1802]]