![]() Portland's access to the Pacific Ocean via the Willamette and Columbia rivers, as well as its easy access to the agricultural Tualatin Valley via the " Great Plank Road" (the route of current-day U.S. The movement to make Portland a "Rose City" started as the city was preparing for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. In 1889, Henry Pittock's wife, Georgiana, established the Portland Rose Society. In 1888, the first steel bridge on the West Coast was opened in Portland, the predecessor of the 1912 namesake Steel Bridge that survives today. By 1879, the population had grown to 17,500 and by 1890 it had grown to 46,385. A major fire swept through downtown in August 1873, destroying twenty blocks on the west side of the Willamette along Yamhill and Morrison Streets, and causing $1.3 million in damage, roughly equivalent to $29.4 million today. At the time of its incorporation on February 8, 1851, Portland had over 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, the Weekly Oregonian. The coin used for this decision, now known as the Portland Penny, is on display in the headquarters of the Oregon Historical Society. This controversy was settled with a coin toss that Pettygrove won in a series of two out of three tosses, thereby providing Portland with its namesake. Both Pettygrove and Lovejoy wished to rename "The Clearing" after their respective hometowns (Lovejoy's being Boston, and Pettygrove's, Portland). In 1845, Overton sold his remaining half of the claim to Francis W. For 25 cents, Overton agreed to share half of the 640-acre (2.6 km 2) site with Asa Lovejoy of Boston. In 1843 William Overton saw potential in the new settlement but lacked the funds to file an official land claim. This community was initially referred to as "Stumptown" and "The Clearing" because of the many trees cut down to allow for its growth. A new settlement then emerged ten miles from the mouth of the Willamette River, roughly halfway between Oregon City and Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fort Vancouver. Large numbers of pioneer settlers began arriving in the Willamette Valley in the 1840s via the Oregon Trail, with many arriving in nearby Oregon City. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and Portland has been called the "City of Roses" for over a century. Its climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. The city operates with a commission-based government, guided by a mayor and four commissioners, as well as Metro, the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Beginning in the 1960s, Portland became noted for its growing progressive political values, earning it a reputation as a bastion of counter-culture. ![]() After the city's economy experienced an industrial boom during World War II, its hard-edged reputation began to dissipate. At the turn of the 20th century, the city had a reputation as one of the most dangerous port cities in the world, a hub for organized crime and racketeering. Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, and the timber industry was a major force in the city's early economy. Named after Portland, Maine, the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1840s, near the end of the Oregon Trail. About half of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metropolitan area. Approximately 2.5 million people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area (MSA), making it the 25th most populous in the United States. As of 2020, Portland had a population of 652,503, making it the 26th-most populated city in the United States, the sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the largest county in Oregon by population. Portland ( / ˈ p ɔːr t l ə n d/, PORT-lənd) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S.
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