The New Student's Reference Work/Portland, Or.

Portland, Or., the largest city of Oregon, is on Willamette River, near the point where it joins the Columbia, about 100 miles from the ocean and about 800 north from San Francisco. The city is beautifully located on a rising slope that extends from the river to the foot-hills. Five snowcovered mountain-peaks can be seen from Portland Heights in the west of the city; and the public park-system embraces more than 200 acres. The public buildings are costly and modern, and among them may be mentioned the Public Library, the Chamber of Commerce, the Northwestern Industrial Exposition Building; the city-hall, postoffice and customhouse, each occupying an entire block; Union Depot, Marquam Theater, Weinhard Building and many others, besides fine private residences. At Oregon City, twelve miles from Portland, are Willamette Falls, which furnish excellent power for manufacturing. Among the industries are lumber and flour mills, furniture, cordage, boot, shoe, carriage and wagon factories, breweries, planing mills, paper-bag factories, saddlery and harness works, paint-works, spice-mills and canneries. Portland has an admirable public-school system, with fine schoolbuildings, and spends more than $250,000 annually for the maintenance of schools. Higher educational institutions include Portland University, Portland Academy, Bishop Scott School, Saint Helen's School for Girls and the medical and law schools of the University of Oregon. Among the charitable institutions are the Portland, St. Vincent's and Good Samaritan hospitals. Electric power from Willamette Falls operates the electric lights and street-railways. Portland has an immense drydock and is a prosperous port of entry, large ocean-ships coming to this point. Clearing-house returns for 1906 showed a commerce of nearly $300,000,000, with an export trade of $15,000,000. Portland was founded in 1844 by New Englanders who named it for the Maine city, and became a city in 1851. Population 207,214.