Welcome to Portland, Oregon!
|
Upcoming Portland Events
|
||
 |
All Portland Events » | |
 |
Portland has some amazing attractions that are fun for everyone! | |
| Portland Attractions » | ||
 |
Looking for a place to catch some shut eye? Look no further we've, got you covered... |
| Portland Hotels » |
Jobs
If you're looking for a job in Portland, you have come to the right place. From entry-level positions to executive careers, there Portland jobs for any skill set.
Apartments
Whether you're looking for a one-bedroom studio apartment, or you're looking for the ultimate in luxury, we can help you find your perfect apartment in Portland.
Real Estate
Find properties from one bedroom studios to million-dollar homes that offer world-class luxury, you can find Portland homes as well as research on the area.
Beer
Known as the beer capital of the U.S. Portland has more breweries than any other city in the country, one of the reasons we're affectionately known as "Beervana."
Businesses
From accountants to yoga, we've got them all listed here in our directory. It's our version of the Yellow Pages: with reviews, ratings, maps and more!
Nightlife
Whether you're looking for night clubs, need a grab a bite to eat, or want to dance the night away, you can find it all in Portland!
Sports
From Trail Blazers to Roller Derby Girls, Portland has some of the most exciting and fun sports teams and action found anywhere!
Featured Articles
Top 10 Portland Attractions - You could spend months in Portland and still not have a chance to visit all of fun attractions and things to do in the city. Whether you want to tak...
How we stack up: Average Household Income - The average household income for a city is a very telling figure that determines the economic stability and viability of a city. The average househo...
How we stack up: Average Commute Time - This article kicks off one of many that compares Portland to some of the major cities in the Pacific Northwest. In the next several articles we will...
More Articles - Want to read more? View articles that have been previously released on Portland.com.
About Portland, OR
|
Portland, Oregon (OR) started as a spot known as "The Clearing" which was on the Willamette about half-way between Oregon City and Fort Vancouver. In 1843, William Overton saw great commercial potential for this land; his only problem was that he lacked the quarter needed to file a land claim. So, he struck a bargain with his partner Asa Lovejoy: for 25 cents, Overton would share his claim to the 640 acre site.
Bored with clearing trees and building roads, Overton sold his half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove. When it came time to name their new town, Pettygrove and Lovejoy each wanted to name it after his home town. They settled the argument with a coin toss. Pettygrove won, and named it after Portland, Maine; had Lovejoy won, he intended to name it after Boston, Massachusetts.
In its early years, Portland existed in the shadow of Oregon City, the territorial capital twelve miles upstream on the falls of the Willamette. However, Portland was located at the Willamette's head of navigation, the furthest point inland one could reliably reach by ship. This gave it a key advantage over its older peer. It also triumphed over early rivals like Milwaukie. By 1850 Portland had approximately 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, called the Weekly Oregonian.
Portland was the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s when direct railroad access between the deep water harbor in Seattle and points east by way of Stampede Pass were built. Goods could then be transported from the northwest coast to inland cities without needing to navigate the dangerous bar at the mouth of the Columbia.
