Early Portland History 

Portland, Oregon came into being, legally, in 1851.  The embryonic city had been on the ground since 1845, when the two proprietors of the town site, Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove, christened it "Portland".  In 1851, the Territorial Legislature officially created Portland with an area of 2.1 square miles.  After 1851, for the next thirty years there was little change in Portland's boundaries.  The largest single change in Portland's boundaries, and the most important transformation in its geography, occurred in 1891.  Up to that point in time, Portland was confined entirely to the west bank of the Willamette River.  The City of East Portland and City of Albina were incorporated in 1870 and 1887 respectively.  In July 1891, Portland, the City of East Portland, and the City of Albina were consolidated into one city, "Portland" with an area of about 25 square miles and a population of at least 63,000.  During the period from 1883-1891, population in and around Portland doubled.  This rapid growth was due largely to the influx of immigrants from the East arriving by rail.

Development in Portland centered almost exclusively along the Willamette River until the 1890s, when the streetcar made its debut. Quality of life was rising, and many families saw the potential to take advantage of work and modern life in the city while escaping the grime and industrialization to homes in the surrounding small towns of Sellwood, St. Johns, Albina, Park Rose, and Sunnyside. With the birth of the commuter, life became centered along the streetcar lines. Although the lines followed many already established streets, they dramatically changed the dynamics of the neighborhoods through which they ran. As the network grew, junctions along the streetcar lines became magnets for homes and businesses such as corner markets, drugstores, and neighborhood theaters that thrived on the commuters' business.