Portland. Portland is the most populous city in the U.S.
state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020.
The Greater Portland metropolitan area has a population of approximately 550,000 people. Historically tied to commercial shipping, the marine economy, and light industry, Portland's economy in the 21st century relies mostly on the service sector.
The Port of Portland is the second-largest tonnage seaport in the New England area as of 2019. The city seal depicts a phoenix rising from ashes, a reference to Portland's recovery from four devastating fires.
Portland was named after the English Isle of Portland. In turn, the city of Portland, Oregon, was named after Portland, Maine. The word Portland is derived from the Old English word Portlanda, which means land surrounding a harbor. The Greater Portland area has emerged as an important center for the creative economy, which is also bringing gentrification. The first European settler was Christopher Levett, an English naval captain granted 6,000 acres in 1623 to found a settlement in Casco Bay. A member of the Council for New England and agent for Ferdinando Gorges, Levett built a stone house where he left a company of ten men, then returned to England to write a book about his voyage to bolster support for the settlement. Ultimately, the settlement was a failure and the fate of Levett's c