Portland, Louisville

Portland is a neighborhood and former independent town two miles northwest of downtown Louisville, Kentucky. In its early days it was the largest of the six major settlements at the Falls of the Ohio River, the others being Shippingport and Louisville in Kentucky and New Albany, Clarksville, and Jeffersonville on the Indiana side. Its modern boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, 10th Street to the east, Market Street to the south, and the Shawnee Golf Course to the west.

History

General William Lytle, the founder of Cincinnati, Ohio, owned a large amount of land just below the Falls of the Ohio and in 1811 laid out the settlement of Portland. He planned to sell the lots to finance his plan to build a canal around the Falls. Lytle authorized Joshua Barclay and Alexander Ralston to design the town, which featured a Northeast to Southwest street grid. The original settlement was between what is now 36th and 33rd Street along the Ohio River, which included a large wharf. The settlement quickly grew to the east in a Northwest to Southeast street grid, which noticeably contrasts to the East-West grid of adjacent areas of Louisville.

The development of the steamboat occurred simultaneously with Portland's development, allowing the Ohio River to be used as a major freight shipping route in what was then the American Frontier. Portland was located just downstream from the only natural obstacle on the Ohio River, so all large boats traveling on the Ohio had to stop to move their freight by land around the Falls and reload them on another boat. With a captive audience and a need for freight hauling, Portland's Wharf flourished as numerous taverns, warehouses, and shipyards were built. By 1814 French immigrants from Alsace began populating the town. [cite journal|author=Burnett, Robert A.|title=Louisville's French Past|journal=Filson Club Quarterly|year=1976|month=April|pages=10] By 1817 the original street grid had run out of room and was expanded to 40th Street on the west and 13th Street on the east in 1817 to facilitate the additional growth. It quickly became a rival of Louisville and the nearer-by settlement of Shippingport. The three were first connected by road in 1818. This road, initially called the Louisville & Portland Turnpike, became Portland Avenue.

An important early home was the Squire Earick house, which was home of the first magistrate, and also used as the settlement's courthouse and jail. Another landmark was the Church of Our Lady, started in 1839 and the third building, built in 1873, still standing in 2007.

In 1830 a canal was built around the Falls, causing many of the warehouses and shipyards to close and shifting economic power on the Falls to nearby Louisville, although Portland would continue to grow as many French and Irish immigrants moved there. It was incorporated in 1834, but then annexed by Louisville in 1837 after a compromise in which the canal would be widened to handle larger ships, but a new rail line going from Lexington to the Ohio River would go to Portland's wharf instead of Louisville's. However, after the new line didn't connect to the wharf, Portlanders voted in 1842 to become independent again, although ten years later the area was annexed a second time. Although now just a neighborhood of the much larger Louisville, Portland would continue to flourish as a working class community through the 1930s, with residents working in many of the nearby factories. The largest Ohio River flood in recorded history occurred in 1937 and inundated all of Portland, with areas closest to the river nearly being wiped out. Plans began immediately to protect the area with a flood wall, but World War II occupied the priority of the government's engineers. Just eight years later in 1945 the second largest flood in Louisville's history occurred. In its aftermath all areas of Portland nearest to the river were razed, including the Portland Wharf, and a gigantic flood wall was built to a height three feet above the level of the 1937 flood. Both floods had driven many middle class families from the area. Despite the loss of many of area's oldest buildings, portions of the neighborhood away from the flood wall were largely untouched by urban renewal, and retain a great number of pre-Civil War buildings. Although many older mansions exist in Portland, the vast majority of homes built in the area were shotgun houses.

An interesting possibility is that the nickname of Hoosier given to residents of Indiana has been linked to the construction of the Louisville and Portland Canal in 1830, supposedly because a contractor named Samuel Hoosier preferred Indiana workers over those from Kentucky, and they were therefore dubbed as "Hoosier's Men."

Portland today

As of 2000, the population of Portland was 11,810 ref|1. Portland is the only predominantly White neighborhood on Louisville's West Side. Prior to 1960, Blacks were effectively unable to live in the neighborhoods north of Broadway, which included Portland. However, during White Flight areas to Portland's south and west became almost entirely Black.

Today Portland is among the most economically challenged areas of Louisville, which the lowest median house value in the city, a high poverty rate, and over 100 abandoned buildings, although Portland does have a lower violent crime rate than surrounding neighborhoods. In 2006, Portland was named by First Lady Laura Bush to be a [http://www.preserveamerica.gov Preserve America] community. Communities designated through the program are allowed to use the Preserve America logo on signs and promotional materials and are eligible to apply for grants that will be administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

There are several futures plans to help revive parts of Portland, including the creation of a museum and arts district in the Portland Warehouse District (which sits just 2 blocks from Louisville's Museum Row), and opening several historic buildings to the public. There are also plans for the creation of several large parks along the Portland Waterfront. When complete, the Portland Wharf Park will bear a striking resemblance to Downtown Louisville's Waterfront Park. There are also plans to great a "Great Lawn West" just west of the 9th Street / I-64 interchange.

Attractions and historic sites

Portland is home to a large number of Louisville's most prominent historic landmarks and a large percent of the city's pre Civil War buildings. Although currently not open to the public, the United States Marine Hospital of Louisville‎ is considered one the most architecturally important historic sites in the US. Completed in 1847, it is widely considered the best remaining antebellum era hospital in the US and is the only remaining of the seven original hospitals built in the mid-19th century by the Marine Hospital Service. After siting abandoned for several decades, the building's exterior has been fully restored to match its appearance in 1899, with the inside still being restored. There are many other 19th century landmarks in Portland, including the Notre Dame du Port Church (1841) (now the Church of Our Lady), the Montgomery Street School (1852) and numerous privately owned mansion houses, many of which were built by steamboat captains. The entire Portland Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1996 Louisville's first bike trail was opened along Portland's waterfront. The seven mile long River Walk has since been extending 20 miles to the Farnsley Morman Landing near Valley Station and is going to be part of 110 mile long bike trail encircling Louisville. The River Walk also links Portland directly to Downtown Louisville and Shawnee Park.

Demographics

As of 2000, the population of Old Louisville was 11,811, [cite web |title=Community Resource Network |url=http://www.crnky.org/Neighborhoods/WEB/portland.htm|accessdate=2005-11-18 |publisher=CRN Data] of which 71.7% are white, 24.5% are black, 3.1% are listed as other, and 0.8% are Hispanic. College graduates are 3.3%, people without a high school degree are 46.3%. Females are 51.9% of the population, males are 48.1%. Households making less than $15,000 a year are 38.7%.

Originally settled by French and Irish immigrants, since WWII most of the originals immigrant families left for the South End and Portland is now mostly populated by displaced rural Kentuckians of British Isles heritage to settle. In 2000 less than 1% of Porltands claimed French ancestry and only 10% claimed Irish ancestry. Over 20% of Portlanders claimed 'American' ancestry, which is the most common ancestry in the rural South.

Notable Natives

Portland has been home to many notable people over the years.

* John James Audubon - world renowned wildlife artist
* Mary Miller - first woman to be a licensed steamboat captain
* Howard Schnellenberger - college football coach at Oklahoma, Miami, Louisville, & Florida Atlantic
* Paul Hornung - former Heisman Trophy winner at Notre Dame and Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers football player
* Pee Wee Reese - former 10 time MLB all star in 1940s-50s

Portland Image Gallery

References

# cite web|title=Community Resource Network|url=http://www.crnky.org/Neighborhoods/WEB/portland.htm|accessdate=2008-04-10

Notes

External links

* [http://www.goportland.org/ Portland Museum]
* [http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/louisville/portland/ Portland Now, Inc.] (Portland's Neighborhood Association)
* [http://www.courier-journal.com/reweb/community/placetime/city-portland.html Places in Time: Portland]
* [http://www.ecentral.com/louisvillemaps/portland.gifStreet map of Portland]

Louisville places
place=Portland
north=Ohio River, Shippingport
south=Russell
east=Downtown Louisville
west=Shawnee