Before the arrival of Europeans, the area was inhabited by San and Khoikhoi peoples. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck established a small colony on the Cape of Good Hope as a refreshment station for the Dutch East India Company. Porterville is a small Town at the foot of the Olifants River Mountains, 27 km south-east of Piketberg and 155 km north-east of Cape Town.
The town was established in 1863 and named after William Porter, Attorney General of the Cape Colony from 1839 to 1866.
According to the 2011 census, Porterville had a population of 7,057 people in 1,949 households. 96.0% of the residents speak Afrikaans as their first language, while 1.9% speak English and 2.1% speak some other language. 76.4% of residents identified themselves as "Coloured", 21.0% as "White" and 1.6% as "Black African".
It was laid out in 1863 on the farm: 'Pomona', previously Willems Valley, and became a municipality in 1903. Agriculture in the area, is dominated by wheat production.
The Dutch Reformed Congregation of Porterville is a congregation in the Swartland, that falls under the Ring of Piketberg. Porterville's neighbouring town, and Synod of the Western Cape.