Stumptown, Oregon: A Brief HIstory of A Name

Portland, Oregon is located in Multnomah County along the Willamette River. Portland was once called Stumptown, a reference to the pillage of the many trees by Oregon Trail emigrants when they started to build houses in the area. In 1845, Francis Pettygrove and A.L. Lovejoy (both East Coast emigrants, one from Boston and one from Portland, ME) decided that Stumptown, or "The Clearing," needed a new name. They decided to flip a penny to determine what Stumptown's new name would be: Portland or Boston (they both must have been a little homesick.) During that time, Portland's many stumps were not usually a problem. I imagine a lot of them made for very nice outdoor seating. However, when the Willamette River flooded in the early 1860's and the people of Portland had to row across town to get to work, the submerged stumps became annoying obstacles. After the flood, the city merchants decided to clear away all the stumps... and Stumptown was history.

CONTEST! 

Portland has been called many names: Stumptown, P-town, The Rose City, PDX, Bridgetown, Rip City, Little Beirut.. etc. We've got a little Jam-Hunt package to send to the first commenter with another nickname for Portland, Oregon. But you've gotta tell us the origin of the nickname! Good luck!

Tomorrow.. on to Eugene!