Design
Portland, Ore., Then and Now (1890-2012)
It's easy to see the results of Oregon's urban growth boundary laws in this side-by-side map comparison
Settled by a man from Massachusetts and a man from Maine, they decided in 1845, by coin toss, which one would get to name the land after his hometown. Winning two out of three tosses, Portland, Maine's Francis Pettygrove claimed naming rights of what would become Oregon's largest city.
Officially incorporated in 1851, Portland grew steadily, forming an identity as an industrial trading town. Up into the 1890s, Portland hosted the Pacific Northwest's largest port, only to be surpassed later by Seattle after that city connected new railways to their harbor, allowing goods to bypass the Columbia River. To this day Portland is still home to one of the West Coast's largest ports and is the largest wheat shipment point in America.