Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Town of Portland

Senator Young helped commemorate an important milestone in the Town of Portland as they recently celebrated their 200^th Anniversary! A special dinner was attended by community members, and town officials re-enacted the first board meeting.

With a history going back to the Holland Land Company Purchase, the Town of Portland was officially established on April 9, 1813. It initially included the present-day Towns of Westfield and Ripley, which were later subdivided from the Town of Portland.

The first settler in Portland was Captain James Dunn, a Revolutionary War soldier who moved his wife and six children to the area in 1805. The home he built in 1806 became a center for the town, including holding the first church services in town.

Throughout its history, from the War of 1812 to present day, the citizens of the Town of Portland have bravely volunteered their service, and even their lives, to defend liberty and freedom in our country. Currently, the Town of Portland is a center of fruit-growing in the State of New York. The introduction of grapes and the creation of the grape industry in Western New York can be traced back to Elijah Fay, one of the first settlers in the Town of Portland.

Notable people with ties to Portland include George Pullman, the designer and manufacturer of Pullman sleeping cars, who was born in Portland, and Brad Anderson, who grew up in the Town of Portland and created the comic strip Marmaduke, which he continues to draw to this day.

Congratulations on the Town of Portland’s 200^th anniversary and here’s to another 200!

Pictured with Senator Young are town officials Al Valentin, Dan Schrantz, Roxanne Sobecki, Gary Miller, Rick Manzella, Jerry Baltz and Assemblyman Andy Goodell.