Portland and Oregon's history is colorfully painted with vivid images ofcovered wagons, hearty pioneers and fur trappers against a backdropof rugged mountains, lush forests, wild rivers and the hardships of theOregon Trail.

Men of the Lewis and Clark expedition entered this wild country in 1806. Twenty years later, the Columbia River had become almost exclusively the shipping lane of the Hudson's Bay Company with the British bringing in shiploads of much needed supplies and leaving laden with lush furs.

Portland was founded in 1851 and was part of a 640-acre land claim owned by Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove. Lovejoy, a native of Massachusetts, wanted to name the settlement Boston. However, Pettygrove was from Maine and wanted to name the hamlet Portland.The dispute was settled with a coin toss. Pettygrove won.

Those early settlers were determined to build a community where businesses could grow and prosper and where people and natural resources were nurtured. That spirit is alive and well in Oregon today. Oregon was the first state in the country to pass a "bottlebill" requiring a 5¢ deposit on beverage cans and bottles.Thanks to far-sighted legislators in the early 1970s, private land owners can't restrict access to Oregon's beaches -- those beaches belong to the people. The Portland metropolitan area leads the country in light-rail development and has boasted the best transit system in the country. Volunteer groups work to keep our highways and beaches clean. Recycling is a way of life. Government agencies, business and citizens work together to ensure wise use of lands. The spirit of those early pioneers laid the foundation for what Oregon and Portland is today: a good place to live and raise a family.