Portland then and now: A look back at the city’s history on the anniversary of its incorporation

Oregon’s largest city was incorporated on this day 171 years ago – but the place we know as Portland now almost had a different name.

In 1845, business partners Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygove determined the name of a new and growing town on the Willamette River through the flip of a penny. Lovejoy was from Boston, Massachusetts. Pettygrove was from Portland, Maine. Pettygrove won the toss — and the naming rights.

Six years later, on Feb. 8, 1851, the city was officially incorporated under the name it had become known by.

The “Portland Penny” is on display at the Oregon Historical Society.