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CHistory
History · Portland

Portland dates to 1859, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #132 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it

Most of Portland was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1910.

1859founded
3on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Portland began

When was Portland founded?

1859

Portland dates its founding to 1859 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 579 in 19102020 census: 13,156167 years

How historic is Portland?

C

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Portland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Portland is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #132 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Portland’s overall grade.
Founding era1859, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.3% of homes (±2.2) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register3 listings, 4 historic buildings, 3.0 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 30%
NewerOlder
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 26%

Tennessee towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Tennessee town has 6.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Portland’s 3.0 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1859.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Portland’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Portland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Portland, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Portland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Portland’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Portland’s post office has been open since 1888. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Richland Station
1860–1888
Mitchell
1876–1907
Portland
1888–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Highland Rim TerraceMitchellPipers ChapelScattersville
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Portland
HardinMaple HillParkers ChapelSang

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Portland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Portland.

Read it all →

Portland is located on the Highland Rim in extreme northern Middle Tennessee. This region has always been known for excellent agricultural soils, a spectacular wildlife environment and an enjoyable climate.

People were originally attracted from the tobacco belt in Virginia and the Carolinas to the Highland Rim for land speculation and production of dark tobacco. The Highland Rim offered ideal climate and soil conditions for growing dark tobacco. This lucrative crop increased the value of the land, which benefited land speculators in the area. Eventually these speculators moved on to attempt profits elsewhere. The farmers, however, remained.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Portland, 1859 to 1986

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859
    FoundingPortland is established
  3. 1860Post officeThe Richland Station post office opens
  4. 1876Post officeThe Mitchell post office opens
  5. 1878BuiltMoye Boarding House is built
  6. 1888Post officeThe Richland Station post office closes
  7. 1888Post officeThe Portland post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1907Post officeThe Mitchell post office closes
  10. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1986Born hereCorey Brewer is born here
By decade

Portland, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Moye Boarding House2021Moye Boarding HousePortland, Tennessee Business District 9-28-20132013Portland, Tennessee Business District 9-28-2013Fred J White Municipal Building Portland Tennessee 20122012Fred J White Municipal Building Portland Tennessee 20…
On the map

Portland on the map, 1956 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Portland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Portland on the 1956 USGS mapPortland on the 1980 USGS map1956Portland sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Portland.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Portland

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2013
Moye Boarding House
Moye Boarding House, built 1878Parker’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and CemeteryScattersville Public School
BuildingsDistricts
Moye Boarding HouseBuilt 1878
All 3 listings
Parker’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and CemeteryDistrict · listed 2021Scattersville Public SchoolBuilding · listed 2024

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Portland, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00019201940196019802000202013,156

Grew from 579 people in 1910 to 13,156 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Portland’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Orlinda1 historic placeB+

Questions about Portland’s history

What year was Portland founded?

In 1859, according to Wikidata. Portland’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1910 counted 579 people here.

How does Portland rank for history?

Portland is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #132 of 177 in Tennessee. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Portland?

Three places: the Moye Boarding House (listed 2013), the Parker’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and Cemetery (2021) and the Scattersville Public School (2024).

How old are the homes in Portland?

2% of Portland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1996.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.