Port Barrington

Port Barrington is a village in Lake and McHenry counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It was formerly known as Fox River Valley Gardens. Fox River Valley Gardens’ village board voted 4-3 in September 2002 to change the community’s long name to Port Barrington. There was a fight over the town name when the new Riverwalk subdivision homeowners were sold homes with a Barrington (60010) village name and zip code. In 2002, when the town announced that it would change to “Fox River Valley Gardens”, the new home values fell significantly and immediately. Some people trying to sell their homes at the time found themselves “underwater” (selling at a loss). This prompted citizens in the Riverwalk section of town to express their objection to what appeared to be a “bait and switch” in the town name and zip code as it affected home value. There were several tense town meetings where legal action was being considered by the new residents of the village. The population was 1,517 at the 2010 census,[3] up from 788 in 2000.

The town is a very active community. Winter has people snowmobiling, cross country skiing, ice fishing and ice skating on village trails and lakes. In the summer, cyclists, runners, fishermen and boaters come from all over the area to this town. The Broken Oar and the Lake County Marina are the two largest attractions.