Port of Portland

Imagine taking a trip on the Willamette to check out the Port of Portland and its marine terminals on a jetboat among a crowd of tourists. The feeling of traveling by boat on the river is unbearable; the motion of the boat is sickening. The captain of the boat, while he is guiding the crowd to the terminals, clears his throat and starts his speech: “Besides the marine terminals and the shipyards, the Port of Portland also administers the airports in the city. Believe it or not people, it is true.” The rumors heard of the airports being administered by city halls or the government turned out to be false. Debate ensues among the crowd of tourists. If this is what the captain mentioned about the port, then it is true. The Port of Portland is more than a shipping industry. This article will mainly focus on the development of Portland as a harbor. The first section in this article will explain the history of the Columbia and the Willamette Rivers along with the founding of the city of Portland. The next section will mainly focus on how Portland became the best site for port access and function. Finally, the last section will focus on the competitors of the city. Because of its location, flow of business, and other factors, the Port of Portland is judged to be the port with the most excellent service in the United States.

Fig 1- Map shows the Columbia River flowing through most of Washington and Canada, and the northern part of Oregon (Encarta Encyclopedia Atlas).

When the United States did not have the state as its own, Oregon was known by just its name. Its river was absolutely stunning to the eye. American navigators referred to the river as “The River of the West”, while Hispanic navigators dubbed it “El Rio de la Reyes”, which means “The River of the Kings”. This lasted until Captain Robert Gray of Boston discovered the river while he was traveling. He then named the river, the Columbia, after his boat: Columbia Rediviva. The Columbia River is a large river that crosses the Rocky Mountains from Southeastern British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean by Astoria (Fig.1). The Columbia River has played an important role in the leading development of the Port of Portland, because its mouth allows large ships from overseas to easily access the port city.

The Willamette River is a stream that is well connected to the Columbia River near the city. Besides the Columbia, the Willamette also became another reason the Port of Portland has grown to be a great port in the Northwest. The Willamette River has been stated to be the most popular stream in the state of Oregon. It has also been the central source for valuable fisheries and hydroelectricity. The Willamette, like the Columbia, also has been established to be a transportation route for large ships.

The city of Portland is located on both banks of the Willamette River. How was Portland established? It has been 160 years since the city was just a rich, fertile meadow known as “The Clearing” according to Jewel Lansing, Former Portland City Auditor and author of her classic book Portland: People, Politics and Power. That meadow used to be a paradise and used to be the setting of early native settlers. In 1844, Attorney and Oregon City Major General Asa Lovejoy, and famous merchant and businessman Sir Francis Pettygove bought that meadow from William Overton of Tennessee. Both Englishmen buyers (Lovejoy and Pettygove) were more than great friends; however, they would not admit defeat so easily: “Lovejoy wanted Boston as the setting’s name while Pettygove wanted Portland” (Lansing 6). Neither of those two wanted to name the setting with a native name, which perfectly makes sense since both of these men bought the property. The dispute over the beautiful meadow was settled on a coin toss in Oregon City. Pettygove, with two tosses of the coin, won the privilege to name the meadow. How different would the city be if Lovejoy had won that coin toss? It might have become a port city as well; however, it might not have been as great as today’s port city.

Portland is a city in the Pacific Northwest to have a great port. Even before the founding of the port, the city was considered a great site for the shipping and trading business, according to Captain John H. Couch of Massachusetts; that is because the city (formerly “The Clearing") was settled on its right location. “‘To this point I can bring any ship that can get into the mouth of the Great Columbia River.’” (Captain John Couch, quoted in Lansing 9) The captain can be heard laughing of joy at that discovery. Couch’s statement and the manufacturing of ships in Portland triggered the shipping and trading businesses of Portland in the 19th century. The year 1891 marked the founding of the Port of Portland by the Oregon