Portland is a fast-growing port city found within Oregon State, just a few kilometers from the Pacific Coast. The city is by far the largest and most populous metropolis in the State and one of the top 30 populated cities in the U.S. Being one of the world’s greenest and most beautiful cities, Portland is a top tourist destination for nature lovers.
Prior to the arrival of the new settlers and colonialists, the land that developed to today’s Portland city was dominated by native tribes mainly the Chinook people. This group of Natives relied on hunting, fishing, and gathering along the Columbia River. Their villages were concentrated around Willamette River valleys and the nearby Portland Basin. The Natives were mostly wiped out by Old World diseases like smallpox that came with the arrival of the European traders and settlers into the area.
To the early arrivals in the area, Portland was just a simple clearing, known literally as “The Clearing,” that traders used as a resting point on their journeys between Fort Vancouver and what was then a thriving Oregon City. However, two famous pioneers, Asa Lovejoy and his friend William Overton, saw the potential in the land surrounding the so-called “Clearing” in 1843 and filed a land claim with the local provisional government to acquire his piece of land which amounted to a little over 600 acres. The two shared the land equally but Overton got bored with the preparations for their “new town” and sold his share to Francis Pettygrove in 1845.
When the land clearing and road constructions were over, Lovejoy and Pettygrove tossed a coin to determine who would get to name the town. The idea was that the city would be named after the hometown of whoever won the coin toss. Pettygrove who hailed from Portland, Maine won and consequently, the town came to be known as Portland. Otherwise, the town would have been named Boston-Lovejoy’s native home.
Although the land changed ownership multiple times in the years that followed, it continued to develop as a great trading and industrial center mainly driven by its accessibility by water and location near Willamette’s and Columbia River’s meeting point. By 1850, the town was a well-established town with a population of well over 800 residents, a newspaper, and a few popular hotels. Portland was officially incorporated as a town in 1851. Since then, it has gone through a great deal of good and bad times before establishing itself as the “City of Roses.”
And while you’re doing research on the history of Portland, OR, if you’re ever in need of a roofing company in Portland, we’re here to help. Schedule an appointment or give us a call today. We look forward to hearing from you!
