PORTLAND

city, seat (1760) of Cumberland county, southwestern Maine, U.S. The state's largest city, it is the hub of a metropolitan statistical area that includes the cities of South Portland and Westbrook and the towns of Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, Freeport, Gorham, Scarborough, Windham, and Yarmouth and, in York county, the town of Old Orchard Beach. The city is built largely on two hilly peninsulas overlooking Casco Bay and its many islands. Portland was settled in 1633 by the Englishmen Richard Tucker and George Cleeve. During its early years it was known by several names (Machigonne, Indigreat, Elbow, The Neck, Casco, and Falmouth). It was raided in 1676 by Indians and in 1690 by French and Indians. In 1775 the settlement (then known as Falmouth) was bombarded and burned by the British. Rebuilt, it was incorporated as a town in 1786 and named for the Isle of Portland in Dorsetshire, Eng. When Maine became a state in 1820, Portland served as the capital until 1831. A fire that resulted from an Independence Day celebration destroyed much of the city centre in 1866. Reconstruction soon took place, however, and the city continued to grow. Portland's traditional fishing, shipping, and commercial activities were increasingly supplemented by manufacturing industries. Naval shipbuilding was important in World Wars I and II. Portland is a busy transportation and commercial centre and a major petroleum port, the eastern terminus of the Portland-Montreal oil pipeline. It has extensive foreign and coastal trade. The city's diversified manufactures include semiconductors, food products, stainless steel, and printed materials; ship modernization and repair and commercial fishing also are important. Within the metropolitan area pulp and paper, lumber and wood products, footwear, electromechanical products, electronics, and plastic components are produced. The city is the location of the Westbrook College Campus (1831) of the University of New England and has an art museum and a symphony orchestra. The University of Southern Maine (founded 1878) has campuses in Portland and nearby Gorham. Colonial landmarks include the childhood home (1785) of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Tate House (1755), and the Portland Head Light (1791), one of the oldest lighthouses in the United States. The renovated Old Port Exchange area along Portland's waterfront is now the site of trendy shops and restaurants. The Two Lights and Crescent Beach state parks are nearby. Inc. city, 1832. Pop. (1990) city, 64,157; Portland MSA, 221,095; (1996 est.) city, 63,123; Portland MSA, 228,916. port and largest city of Oregon, U.S., and the seat (1854) of Multnomah county. Portland lies just south of Vancouver, Wash., on the Willamette River near its confluence with the Columbia River, 100 miles (160 km) by river from the Pacific Ocean. Settled in 1829 on the site of an early Indian campground, it was laid out in 1844 and, after two of its early citizens flipped a penny, named for Portland, Maine, rather than Boston, Mass. Early growth was stimulated by a number of gold rushes and the flow of immigrants along the Oregon Trail. Portland's position at the junction of the Columbia River and the main north-south route from California to Puget Sound made it a valuable commercial centre handling the farm and forest produce of the Cascade Range, Willamette River valley, and Columbia River basin. The construction of deepwater port facilities capable of harbouring oceangoing vessels, the completion of the Northern Pacific transcontinental railroad, and the introduction of cheap hydroelectric power encouraged shipbuilding, chemical, and metallurgical (principally aluminum) industries in the city. Food processing, meat-packing, electronics, lumber, and textile manufacturing are also important. The downtown district, site of the original settlement, is connected to the newer parts of the city by eight bridges. Residential development has been steady. This heavily forested city is the home of basketball's Trail Blazers, the University of Portland (1901), Concordia University (1905), Reed College (1909), Lewis and Clark College (1867), Warner Pacific College (1937), Portland State University (1946), Portland Community College (1961), and the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center. Portland's annual Rose Festival (June) is widely acclaimed, and the Pacific International Livestock Show is held each autumn. Nearby points of scenic interest include the 850-foot (259-metre) Multnomah Falls and Bonneville Dam, reached by the Columbia River Highway, east of the city. Portland is headquarters for the Mt. Hood National Forest; snowcapped Mount Hood is 48 miles (77 km) east-southeast, and Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams in Washington are also visible from the city. Inc. 1851. Pop. (1990) city, 438,802; Portland-Vancouver PMSA, 1,515,452; Portland-Salem CMSA, 1,793,476; (1994 est.) city, 450,777; (1995 est.) Portland-Vancouver PMSA, 1,710,260; Portland-Salem CMSA, 2,021,982. town, southern Victoria, Australia. It lies on Portland Bay, an inlet of the Indian Ocean. The bay was first visited by Europeans in 1800 and named after the Duke of Portland by James Grant, a British naval officer; two years later Nicolas Baudin, a French navigator, called it Tourville, a name that persists. The first permanent European settlement in Victoria was made on the site by the Henty family, who established a sheep and whaling station there in 1834. It became a borough in 1863 and a town in 1949. Connected to Adelaide and Melbourne (185 miles northeast) by rail and by the Prince's Highway, Portland has the only deepwater harbour between the two cities. With improved facilities, the port's trade increased after 1950, with oil as the major import commodity and wool, wheat, and frozen meat as the main exports. A fishing fleet supplies a cannery in the town. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 10,136.