Portland, Maine, USA (Deering)
1854 - Portland

Portland, a city,- port of entry, and seat of justice of Cumberland county, Maine, 60 miles S. S. W. from Augusta, and 105 miles N. E. from Boston. Lat. 43° 4' 26" N. Ion., 70° 45' 50" W. It is pleasantly situated on a narrow peninsula or tongue of land projecting from the W. shore of Casco bay. This peninsula is about 3 miles in length from E. to W., and rises at each extremity into considerable elevations, giving the city a beautiful appearance as it is approached from the sea. Its breadth averages about three quarters of a mile, though it is much wider than this at its eastern termination, and also at its junction with the mainland. The harbor is one of the best on the Atlantic coast, the anchorage being protected on every side by land, the communication with the ocean easy and direct, and the depth sufficient for the largest ships. Although in a northern latitude, it is never closed by ice except in the most extreme cold weather, and then only for a few days. The principal entrance lies between the mainland on the S. W. and House island on the N. £., and is defended by Fort Preble on the former, and Fort Scammel on the latter. The city, with but few exceptions, is regularly laid out, and handsomely built, chiefly of brick. Several of the streets arc remarkable for their elegance. Main street is the principal thorough fare, and extends from Munjoy's hill on the E. to Bramhall's hill on the W., following the ridge of the peninsula throughout its entire length. In hardly any other city are to be found so many beautiful shade- trees. It is estimated that there are not less than 3000 of these scattered throughout the various parts of the town.

Among the public buildings of Portland, the custom house, situate at the corner of Exchange and Middle streets, is perhaps the most prominent. It is constructed of sienite, 136 feet in length, 72 feet in breadth, and three stories high. The principal front on Middle street is adorned with a colonnade, consisting of eight beautifully fluted columns, (each a single stone,) supporting an Ionic entablature at the top. From the centre of the edifice rises a copper-covered dome, the base of which is 62 feet in diameter, and the summit 75 feet above the pavement. There are also the city hall, and the court house, (formerly occupied as the state house,) both large and imposing structures. The latter is very pleasantly situated. The churches are as follows, viz. 5 Trinitarian Congregationalists, 2 Unitarian Congregationalists, 4 Methodist Episcopal, 3 Calvinists, 2 Protest ant Episcopal, 1 Christian Society, 1 Freewill Baptist, 1 Roman Catholic. 1 Swedenborgian, and several others — in all 26. Of the buildings, 1 is of granite, 9 of brick, and the remainder of wood.

Portland contains several flourishing scientific and literary institutions, among which may be mentioned the Portland Society of Natural History, having for its object to create an interest and diffuse information in regard to the natural sciences. It has a valuable cabinet of natural history, consisting of specimens of the ornithology of the state ; shells of more than 4000 different species; mineralogical and geological specimens, fishes, reptiles, &c. It numbers about 275 members. Organized in 1813. The Portland Athenaeum, incorporated in 1826, has about 140 proprietors, and a library of 8000 volumes. Besides the above, may be named the Mercantile Association, with a rapidly increasing library, and the Portland Sacred Music Society. The number of public schools in the city and its environs is 25 : teachers, 57 ; average number of pupils in attendance, 3000; amount of money appropriated for school purposes for the year 1852-3, $20,610.72. The school houses are generally substantial brick edifices, constructed upon the most approved plan. A commodious building is now being erected for the state reform school, and is calculated to accommodate nil the unfortunate boys in the state who may need such a place of discipline. There are 11 newspapers published in Portland, 2 of them daily, and 9 weekly.

Portland enjoys excellent facilities both for ocean commerce and inland trade. In addition to its superior harbor advantages it has railway communication with the seaboard for many hundred miles, and with the various important sections of the interior. The Atlantic and St. Lawrence railroad, now about to be completed, will connect Portland with Montreal in Canada, and thereby form a direct channel for the introduction of the rich commerce of the river St. Lawrence, and of the great lakes to this Atlantic city. There are also several other railroads radiating from this point now in process of construction. The shipping of the port, June 30th, 1852, amounted to an aggregate of 77,575 tons registered, and 28,403 tons enrolled and licensed. Of the latter, 19,683 tons were employed in the coast trade, 8157 tons in the cod and mackerel fisheries, and 1290 tons in steam navigation. The foreign arrivals for the year were 384, (tons, 57,010,) of which 186 (tons 38,512,) were by American vessels. The clearances for foreign ports were 443, (tons, 69,893, of which 50,742 tons were in American bottoms One of the chief articles of import is molasses, of which there were landed upon the wharves in 1852, upwards of 7,000,000 gallons. The receipts of this article for 1850 were 1 04 cargoes consisting of 35,788 hogsheads, 1660 tierces, and 771 barrels ; and for the first four months of 1853 tho receipts of molasses was greater than for the whole year 1850. The imports of sugar for 1851 amounted to 2,067,633 pounds; of salt, 150,000 bushels; of railroad iron, 9,850,496 pounds; of flour, about 161,000 barrels, and of corn, 200,000 bushels. The total value of the imports for 1852 amounted to about $1,000,000; and of the exports, $800,000.

The manufactures of Portland are peculiar to a commercial city. Ship-building has been long and successfully carried on. During the year ending June 30, 1852, 44 vessels, (30 of them ships,) with an aggregate burthen of 16,293 tons were admeasured. The most important establishments are the Portland Company, for making loco motives, railroad cars, &c, chartered in 1846, with a capital of $250,000, and the Portland Sugar House. The latter is owned by a single individual, Mr. J. B. Brown, and conducted upon an extensive scale. The first building was erected in 1845 ; since then, additions have been made, so that the whole now cover nearly 1 J acres of ground. Sugar of every quality is manufactured, employing about 200 hands, and consuming from 150 to 180 hogsheads of molasses daily. The financial institutions are six banks, with an aggregate capital of $1,500,000, and an insurance office. The city is lighted with gas, and abundantly supplied with pure water. It is considered as remarkably healthy, never having been visited by the cholera, even when that disease raged fearfully in other neighboring cities.

Portland was settled from England in 1632. Its Indian name was Machigonne. During the wars in which the colonies were involved with the Indians, the French, and the mother country, this town suffered the severest disasters : three times it was entirely destroyed. Since the Revolution, its increase in wealth and population has been constant, and for the most part uniform. The city charter was granted in 1832. Population in 1830, 12,601 ; in 1840, 15,218; in 1850, 20,879; in 1853, about 22,500.

A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.

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