PORTAGE

city, seat (1846) of Columbia county, south-central Wisconsin, U.S. It lies along the Wisconsin River, 33 miles (53 km) north of Madison. The 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre) overland portage there between the Wisconsin and Fox rivers was first crossed by Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673; the route, vital to linking the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River, is now followed by the Portage Canal. Fort Winnebago was built (1828) at the site when conflict with the Winnebago Indians threatened; its Surgeon's Quarters have been restored as a museum. The Old Indian Agency House (1832) of John Kinzie, an early pioneer, has been restored. Modern Portage (inc. 1854) is the business centre of a diversified farming area and has acquired some manufacturing (mobile homes, plastics, and hosiery). The author Zona Gale (1874-1938) was born in Portage, which was the setting for several of her earlier short-story collections. Pop. (1990) 8,640.