Portland

History

The Wangunk tribe lived in the area prior to European settlement, and lived in Portland continuously throughout the settler period. Wangunk descendants still live in the area today. Their name referred to the bend in the Connecticut River which curves around half of the town's perimeter. The first European settlers came to Portland in the 1690s. They were attracted by brownstone, which was used both for construction and for gravestones. Proximity to the river meant that the stone could be transported far and wide, and the Portland brownstone quarries supplied to New York, Boston and even San Francisco, Canada and England. By the 1850s, more than 1,500 people were employed in the quarry industry. More than 25 ships transported the stone. By the 1850s, shipbuilding became more important as an industry, and the economic center of town shifted toward the Gildersleeve area. Immigrants from Ireland, then Sweden, then (to a lesser extent) Italy came to town to work the quarries. The town was a part of Chatham until 1841, when it became separate. Its name comes from Portland, England, a place famous for its freestone quarries. Portland's oldest church is the First Congregational Church. In 1710 a meeting was held for the building of a meetinghouse for preaching. The Connecticut General Assembly approved "parish privileges" in 1714. After a vociferous controversy, a location for the new "Third Ecclesiastical Society of Middletown" meetinghouse was decided upon at "Hall Hill". On October 25, 1721, Rev. Daniel Newell, the first pastor, was ordained. The Bristol, Connecticut native and Yale College graduate died in 1731. In 1748 a new meetinghouse was built, and in 1843 the name of the society was changed to the "First Ecclesiastical Society of Portland." During the American…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (5.99%) is water. The town center CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (9.71%) is water. The village of Gildersleeve also lies within Portland. File:Portland sign, 2022-4-15.jpg|A sign welcoming people to Portland File:Portland from Main St-Silver St intersection, 2022-4-15.jpg|Portland town center as seen from the intersection of Main Street and Silver Street File:Portland town hall, 2022-4-15.jpg|Portland town hall, which also houses the town's police department File:Portland library, 2022-4-15.jpg|The entrance to Portland Library File:Portland Post Office, 2022-4-15.jpg|Portland Post Office File:Portland Fire Department, 2022-4-15.jpg|Portland Fire Department

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Middletown High School
  High · Middletown · 1,214 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• Beman Middle School
  Middle · Middletown · 968 students · 10.9:1 ratio
• Haddam-Killingworth High School
  High · Higganum · 546 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Memorial School
  Elementary · East Hampton · 544 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Cromwell High School
  High · Cromwell · 536 students · 11.4:1 ratio
• Vinal Technical High School
  High · Middletown · 529 students · 10.6:1 ratio
• East Hampton High School
  High · East Hampton · 514 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Cromwell Middle School
  Middle · Cromwell · 483 students · 11.5:1 ratio