Portland's Maritime History

Portland's Maritime History PDF Author: Rebecca Harrison
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439644527
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
Portland is not only the site of numerous marine terminals along the Willamette and Columbia Rivers but also home to much of our American maritime history. Portland shipbuilding started in 1840 with construction of the schooner Star of Oregon. Over 100 years later, three Portland shipyards would build 621 ships for the war effort. Both before and after World War II, several steel and iron companies used the harbors in Portland for their manufacturing. Aside from production, Portland ships over 13 million tons of cargo every year and is the biggest shipper of wheat in the United States. The city displays this maritime history along its beautiful rivers.

The Wreck of the Portland

The Wreck of the Portland PDF Author: J. North Conway
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493039792
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
The SS Portland was a solid and luxurious ship, and its loss in 1898 in a violent storm with some 200 people aboard was later remembered as “New England’s Titanic.” The Portland was one of New England's largest and most luxurious paddle steamers, and after nine years' solid performance, she had earned a reputation as a safe and dependable vessel. In November 1898, a perfect storm formed off the New England coast. Conditions would produce a blizzard with 100 miles per hour winds and 60-foot waves that pummeled the coast. At the time there was no radio communication between ships and shore, no sonar to navigate by, and no vastly sophisticated weather forecasting capacity. The luxurious SS Portland, a sidewheel steamer furnished with chandeliers, red velvet carpets and fine china, was carrying more than 200 passengers from Boston to Portland, Maine, over Thanksgiving weekend when it ran headlong into a monstrous, violent gale off Cade Cod. It was never seen again. All passengers and crew were lost at sea. More than half the crew on board were African Americans from Portland. Their deaths decimated the Maine African American community. Before the storm abated it became one of the worst ever recorded in New England waters. The storm, now known as “The Portland Gale,” killed 400 people along the coast and sent more than 200 ships to the bottom, including the doomed Portland. To this day it is not known exactly how many passengers were aboard or even who many of them were. The only passenger list was aboard the vessel. As a result of this tragedy, ships would thereafter leave a passenger manifest ashore. The disaster has been blamed on the hubris of the captain of the Portland, Hollis Blanchard, who decided to leave the safety of Boston Harbor despite knowing that a severe storm was hurtling up the coast. Blanchard, a long-time mariner, had been passed over for a promotion for a younger captain. He decided he wanted to show the steamship company that they had made a mistake by getting the Portland safely into port ahead of the imminent storm. Author J. North Conway has created here a personal, visceral account of the sinking and the times and the people involved, with stories to bring readers onto the Portland that day: Here is Eben Heuston, the chief steward onboard the ill-fated ship. More than half of the crew of the ship were African Americans. Hueston was an African American who lived in the Portland community of Munjoy Hill and was a member of the Abyssinian Church. After the sinking of the Portland the African American community disappeared and the church closed. And Emily Cobba nineteen year old singer from Portland’s First Parish Church who was scheduled to give her first recital at the church on that Sunday. And Hope Thomas who came to Boston to shop for Christmas and because she decided to exchange some shoes she purchased missed taking the ill-fated Portland. Because of the lack of communications from Maine to Cape Cod, it was days before anyone was able to get word about the fate of the ship or survivors. Author J. North Conway has painstakingly recreated the events, using first-hand sources and testimonies to weave a dramatic, can’t-put-it down narrative in the tradition of Erik Larson’s Isaac’s Storm and Walter Lord’senduring classic, A Night to Remember. He brings the tragedy to life with contemporaneous accounts the Coast Guard, from Boston newspapers such as the Globe, Herald, and Journal, and from The New York Times and the Brooklyn DailyEagle.

Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest

Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest PDF Author: E. W. Wright
Publisher: Portland, Or. : Lewis & Dryden Print. Company
ISBN:
Category : Merchant marine
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description


African Americans of Portland

African Americans of Portland PDF Author: Oregon Black Pioneers
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 0738596191
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
The prolific journey of African Americans in Portland is rooted in the courageous determination of black pioneers to begin anew in an unfamiliar and often hostile territory. By 1890, the majority of Oregon's black population resided in Multnomah County, and Portland became the center of a thriving black middle-class community.

Vanishing Portland

Vanishing Portland PDF Author: Ray Bottenberg
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738525341
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description


Creating Portland

Creating Portland PDF Author: Joseph A. Conforti
Publisher: UPNE
ISBN: 9781584654490
Category : Portland (Me.)
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
The only comprehensive study of Portland s history, culture, and people."

Portland's Pearl District

Portland's Pearl District PDF Author: Christopher Stanley Gorsek
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 0738593249
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
The Pearl District, located in Portland's northwest province, was originally home to timber, lakes, and streams and was occupied by Native Americans. With the arrival of pioneers, its landscape gave way to an industrial scene, which quickly included the railroad. Trains delivered countless cars into what would become the Pearl District. They were first divided up in the railroad yard, and then switch engines transported the vehicles to the doors of local trade buildings.As industry moved out to the suburbs, the need for large rail yards and their storage facilities was greatly reduced in the Pearl. This opened the door for redevelopment of the district, which first began along NW Twenty-third Avenue and spread into the adjacent warehouses and rail yards north of Burnside, between NW Fourteenth Avenue and the Willamette River. Over the last 25 years, the former industrial landscape has transitioned into a dynamic residential and commercial neighborhood known as the Pearl District.

Portland's Goose Hollow

Portland's Goose Hollow PDF Author: Tracy J. Prince
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 0738574724
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
One of Portland's oldest neighborhoods, Goose Hollow is steps from downtown and beloved for its quirky character, historic homes, spectacular views, and walkability. Over a century ago, the actual "hollow" was dramatically altered when the meandering Tanner Creek, in a deep gulch with several trestle bridge crossings, was diverted underground and infilled. The creek's presence is still felt in the ravine carved through the Tualatin Mountains (spanned by the Vista Bridge) and in the neighborhood's identity. This book provides definitive answers to how Goose Hollow got its name and how Tanner Creek Gulch was filled. Stories are also told of the Great Plank Road, City Park's slow-moving landslide, and famous residents such as Daniel Lownsdale, C. E. S. Wood, Dr. Marie Equi, John Reed, and Bud Clark. Historic institutions such as Civic Stadium, Multnomah Athletic Club, Lincoln High School, and Washington Park are also featured.

Sweet Pea at War

Sweet Pea at War PDF Author: William Thomas GenerousJr.
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813128234
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
Few ships in American history have had as illustrious a history as the heavy cruiser USS Portland (CA-33), affectionately known by her crew as 'Sweet Pea.' With the destructionof most of the U.S. battleship fleet at Pearl Harbor, cruisers such as Sweet Pea carried the biggest guns the Navy possessed for nearly a year after the start of World War II. Sweet Pea at War describes in harrowing detail how Portland and her sisters protected the precious carriers and held the line against overwhelming Japanese naval strength. Portland was instrumental in the dramatic American victories at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and the naval battle of Guadalcanal—conflicts that historians regard as turning points in the Pacific war. She rescued nearly three thousand sailors from sunken ships, some of them while she herself was badly damaged. Only a colossal hurricane ended her career, but she sailed home from that, too. Based on extensive research in official documents and interviews with members of the ship's crew, Sweet Pea at War recounts from launching to scrapping the history of USS Portland, demonstrating that she deserves to be remembered as one of the most important ships in U.S. naval history.

St. Johns and the North Portland Peninsula

St. Johns and the North Portland Peninsula PDF Author: Donald R. Nelson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1467105058
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
James John, the founder of St. Johns, settled on his land claim in the 1840s and was soon followed by others. Schools, churches, and stores were established, and industrial development followed. St. Johns was originally annexed to the city of Portland in 1891. Shipyards were developed in North Portland during World War I and World War II. Among the landmarks of the community are St. Johns Bridge and the nearby city hall building. Longtime businesses include Slim's Restaurant and Lounge, Peninsula Iron Works, the Man's Shop, and the Wishing Well Restaurant. Moonstruck Chocolate Company has been located in St. Johns since 2002. Well-known individuals, such as members of the Jower and Leveton families; Howard Galbraith, a founder of the St. Johns Heritage Society; and Walt Morey, author of Gentle Ben, have called St. Johns home. Today, St. Johns comes alive every year with events such as the St. Johns Parade, St. Johns Bizarre, and the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival. The recent influx of people of coming to Portland has influenced redevelopment within the community.