Before it became a city, the area that is now Portland was a forested region along the Willamette River. Long before settlers arrived, Native people—especially the Clackamas and other Chinookan-speaking tribes—used the open space along the river for gathering, trading, and resting. They called this area “the Clearing.” It was a natural meeting place where trails, waterways, and seasonal camps came together.
In the 1840s, American settlers began moving westward for the rich farmland. The US government took the land from the Native people and offered it for free to white settlers who agreed to live on the land for 4 years. Each white male, age 21 and older was given 320 acres of land ; they got 320 acres more if they were married. Excluded were people of color and single women.
To claim the land settlers cut marks on trees bordering the land they wanted. This was called a tomahawk claim and while imprecise it functioned well in the early days when there was plenty of land and few settlers.
William Overton wanted to settle on land at the Clearing but he didn’t have the 25 cents to file the claim. He gave half his claim to Asa Lovejoy from Boston, Massachusetts for 25 cents and built a cabin in the clearing.
Francis Pettygrove from Portland, Maine, wanted to establish a store on the site of the clearing and he bought Overton’s claim for $50 of supplies. Pettygrove and Lovejoy had a vision that the settlement would become a city. When it came time to choose a name for their new town, the two men couldn’t agree. Lovejoy wanted to name it Boston, after his hometown, while Pettygrove wanted to name it Portland, after his own hometown. To settle the matter, they flipped a coin—now known as the Portland Penny—and Pettygrove won two out of three tosses.
Thus, the new settlement became Portland in 1845. The Clearing soon grew into a busy riverfront town, serving as a stopping place for travelers and traders. Although the name came from a coin toss, the place itself had already been important for generations before settlers arrived. Today, remembering that history helps honor the Native people who first used the land long before it became Portland.
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Discussion Questions:
What was life like in ”The Clearing”.
Who lived in The Clearing before the settlers came?
What happened to these people?
Vocabulary:
Settler – a person who moves to a new place or land to establish a home..
Excluded – when someone or something is excluded, they aren’t allowed in a place.
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State Standards
Social Studies 3.11. Describe how individuals, groups, events and developments have shaped the communities and regions. Multicultural Studies, Historical Knowledge
Social Studies 3.17. Use a variety of historical sources including artifacts, pictures and documents to identify factual evidence. Social Science Analysis
Social Studies 3.19 Analyze different ways that people, other living things, and the environment might be affected by an event, issue, or problem. Social Science Analysis