In 1891, approximately 500 residents of Lincoln Township decided to create a new borough. They met in a school house on the old Edmundson farm, and initially thought of naming the new borough "Grandview". However, because of the beautiful view of the port that McKeesport maintained on the Youghiogheny River, they agreed on Port Vue instead. Since then, war veterans and coal miners commonly lived in Port Vue. Port Vue borough was incorporated on September 20, 1892.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), of which 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2), or 3.54%, is water.