History of Portland, OR
The coin toss won by Pettygrove became "Portland" for his hometown of Portland, Maine. Over the next several years Portland merged with several cities as it continued to grow including Albrine & East Portland in 1981, as well as Linnton & St. John after the boom of the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition which was hosted by Portland in 1905. By this time the population had doubled in Portland from 90,000 to 200,000 residents in 1910. In the Early Years In the earlier years the place that is now Portland was called "The Clearing". The Clearing was a location that was greatly used by travelers that were there for trade, fishing, and hunting. This is how many made their living. The Chinook Indians roamed the Oregon territory in the early 19th century. The Multnoah people and the Cascade Indians claimed much of the land which was located around the Sauvie Island and the Columbia Gorge. Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition This was a ground breaking event for Portland's success. Labeled and considered a World's Fair the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition was hosted in Portland in June 1905. The fair ran a full 4 months from June 1st to October 15th 1905. The preparation of the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition brought over 1,000 jobs to the Portland area providing a great impact on the economy of this great city. The Four month fair brought some 1 million visitors from outside the Oregon region. The exhibitors included other countries including Italy, which provided the largest exhibit at the event, France, Germany, and Japan whose exhibit cost them more than 1 million dollars. United States provided many exhibits from States all across the country including New York, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Arizona, Maine, and many more. Some of the exhibits of the fair remain today including the World Forestry Center known then as the Forestry Building rebuilt after it burned down in 1964, and the American Inn. The fair attracted over 1.6 million visitors within the four months it was open. And while several of these people were local residents many still traveled from outside the Oregon region bringing a large amount of revenue for the area impacting the city's economy. Along with revenue it brought lots of new residents growing from 161,000 to 270,000 within 1905-1910. The fair's investors including the North Pacific railroad who invested $20,000 dollars, to the 3,000 citizens who invested earned over 20% on their investment. Railroads & Streetcars After the creation of the Oregon & California Railroad in 1869, Portland's Railroad system grew to contain 92 trains called the "Portland Daily" from the Northern Pacific Terminal. Portland became one of the world's biggest cities of transportation using both Streetcars and Railroads extensively in 1872. There were several railroads and streets growing in the Portland area making this a great metro region throughout the United States. Thousands of people passed through the city regularly making the railways a great revenue earning industry in the 19th century. Henry Villard took over in 1877 bringing more innovation to an already booming industry. His ideas brought the Union Depot which started in 1893. Today the city of Portland has much to offer the economy including transportation.
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