Portage, Wisconsin

Portage is a city in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat of Columbia County. As of the 2020 census, 10,581 people lived in Portage. It is the largest city in Columbia County. The city is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Portage was named for the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. It is a portage between the Fox River and the Wisconsin River. It was found by Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet during their discovery of a route to the Mississippi River in 1673. The slogan of the city is "Where the North Begins." Portage is the largest city outside of Dane County in the Madison Metropolitan Area. Geography Portage is in the Wisconsin River valley. The city is surrounded by prairies and grasslands. The city has a total area of 9.71 square miles (25.15 km2). Of this, 8.91 square miles (23.08 km2) is land and 0.80 square miles (2.07 km2) is water. History The Native American tribes that once lived here, and the European settlers that moved here later, used the lowlands between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers as a natural "portage". The French fur traders called the place "le portage". This later became the name of the community. As a portage, this community grew as a center of commerce and trade. Later, a canal was built to support this trade. By the end of the 17th century, the Fox-Wisconsin waterway was the major fur trade path between Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. In the 1780s and 1790s, traders built their warehouses at each end of The Portage. In the early 19th century, Portage was mostly populated by Metis. In 1828, the federal government saw the economic importance of The Portage. They built Fort Winnebago at the Fox River end. Portage became the county seat in 1851. The community incorporated as Portage City in 1854. Notable people Walt Ambrose, NFL player Peter J. Boylan, U.S. Army general, President of Georgia Military College Ben Brancel, Wisconsin politician Maureen Brunt, U.S. Olympian Guy W.S. Castle, Medal of Honor recipient Jeffrey Dahmer, serial killer Zona Gale, writer, Pulitzer Prize winner Charles W. Henney, U.S. Representative John Edward Kelley, U.S. Representative from South Dakota Margery Latimer, writer John Muir, naturalist Russell W. Peterson, former Governor of Delaware Mike Thompson, NFL player Frederick Jackson Turner, historian, Pulitzer Prize winner Images References Other websites City of Portage Archived 2006-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Portage Chamber of Commerce Archived 2013-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Portage Canal Society - History Archived 2009-04-15 at the Wayback Machine Portage History Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine