Founding year: the first Portland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Portland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Portland is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Portland’s overall grade.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Portland’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Portland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Waterloo sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Portland.
The story so far
Portland, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Portland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Portland is a town in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,091 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Portland is located partially in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1853. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,079 in 2010, 1,091 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Portland in 1880
Passages that mention Portland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin, containing a history of Dodge County, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc1880 · page 569Read the page →
Read the text
In the extreme southwest part of the county lies the village of Portland, the first settlement of which was made in the fall of 1843, hy Alex CampbeU, who selected one quarter of Section 32, as the site for his future home, and for the purpose of laying it out in a "future great city." Mr. C. was soon afterward re-enforced by George Powers, Cyrus Perry, D. V. Knowlton, K. P. Clark, D. Clark, William Austin and others, who each selected their quarters in close proximity, and the work of clearing the timber began.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing ... its early settlement, growth ... an extensive and minute sketch of its cities ... war record, biographical sketches1880 · page 402Read the page →
Read the text
Portland is located in the extreme southwest part of the county, Town 9 north. Range 13 east, and its first settlement dates back to the fall of 1843, Alex. Campbell at that time locating his home on Section 32. He was soon afterward followed by George Powers, Cyrus Perry, D.V. Knowlton, K. P. Clark, D. Clark and others, who comprise the pioneers of the town. They experienced the same trials, endured the same hardships and suifered the same as others who came in at an eai'ly date, and who, with strong right arms and energy worthy of example, felled the forest, cultivated the soil and " made the wilderness to blossom as the rose."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing ... its early settlement, growth ... an extensive and minute sketch of its cities ... war record, biographical sketches1880 · page 313Read the page →
Read the text
wheels of numerous mills and factories on its course. Reaching the foot of Beaver Dam Lake, it is again utilized as it passes into and through Beaver Creek, having a fall of about forty-two feet to the village of Lowell. The Crawfish River, flowing through the towns of Elba and Portland, furnishes a good power for the people of Danville and Portland. As already stated, the utility of Rock River has been seriously impaired by the demolition of the dam at Horicon, whether to the general advantage or disadvantage of all those int;prested, remains a question to be answered by themselves. But the stream still afibrds many valuable and durable mill sites, both above and below Horicon.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Portland, 1853 to 1891
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Portland post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Portland rank for history?
Portland is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Portland?
40% of Portland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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