1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Portadown

PORTADOWN, a market town of county Armagh, Ireland, on the river Bann and the Great Northern railway 25 m. W.S.W. of Belfast. Pop. (1901), 10,002. It is a junction of lines from Dublin, Clones and Omagh. The Bann, which is connected with the Newry Canal and falls into Lough Neagh 5 m. north of the town, is navigable for vessels of 90 tons burden. It is crossed at Portadown by a stone bridge of seven arches, originally built in 1764, but since then re-erected. The manufacture of linen and cotton is carried on, and there is a considerable trade in pork, grain and farm produce. In the reign of Charles I. the manor was bestowed on John Obyns, who erected a mansion and a few houses, which were the beginning of the town. A grain-market was established in 1780. The town is governed by an urban district council.