:Portage, Wisconsin

Image:Wisconsin in 1718.jpg map, showing the historic portage]]

File:Portage WIS.png

The Native American tribes that once lived here, and later the European traders and settlers, took advantage of the lowlands between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers as a natural "portage". This is reflected in indigenous names for the town, such as the Menominee name Kahkāmohnakaneh, which means "at the short cut".{{cite web|url=https://www4.uwsp.edu/museum/menomineeClans/places/chart.aspx|title=Menominee Place Names in Wisconsin|last=Hoffman|first=Mike|website=The Menominee Clans Story|access-date=2018-10-05}} In May 1673, Jacques Marquette joined the expedition of Louis Jolliet, a French-Canadian explorer, to find the Mississippi River. They departed from St. Ignace on May 17, with two canoes and five voyageurs of French-Indian ancestry (Métis). They followed Lake Michigan to Green Bay and up the Fox River, nearly to its headwaters. From there, they were told to portage their canoes a distance of slightly less than two miles through marsh and oak plains to the Wisconsin River. Later, French fur traders described the place as "le portage", which eventually lent itself to the name of the community. As a portage, this community developed as a center of commerce and trade; later, a canal was constructed to facilitate this trade. When the railroads came through, the community continued in this role.

Portage emerged at this place because of its unique position along the one and a half mile strip of marshy floodplain between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. By the end of the 17th century, the Fox-Wisconsin waterway, linked at the Portage, served as the major fur trade thoroughfare between Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. It was not until the 1780s and 1790s that traders built their posts and warehouses at each end of the Portage. In the early 19th century Portage was primarily populated by Métis.Jaqueline Peterson and Jennifer S. H. Brown, The New Peoples: Being and Becoming Métis in North America. St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001, p. 44. In 1828, the federal government recognized the strategic economic importance of The Portage and built Fort Winnebago at the Fox River end. After 15 years of controversy, Winnebago settlement (now Portage) won the county seat in 1851. The community incorporated as Portage City in 1854.

The Portage business district lies along a hill that overlooks the Portage Canal. The buildings now in the city's downtown were once part of a bustling, urban commercial center serving a large region across north central Wisconsin. The building of the city paralleled its commercial prominence between the end of the American Civil War and the second decade of the 20th century.

• Fort Winnebago Surgeon's Quarters Historic Site
• Fox-Wisconsin Portage Site
• Henry Merrell House
• Old Indian Agency House
• Portage Industrial Waterfront Historic District
• Portage Retail Historic District
• Zona Gale House
• Museum at the Portage{{cite web |url=http://portagemuseum.org/ |title=Museum at the Portage |access-date=March 28, 2018}}
• Wisconsin American Legion Museum and Learning Center{{cite web |url=http://www.wilegion.org/page/content/about/wisconsin-american-legion-museum-and-learning-center |title=The American Legion Department of Wisconsin: Wisconsin American Legion Museum and Learning Center |website=www.wilegion.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413064441/http://wilegion.org/page/content/about/wisconsin-american-legion-museum-and-learning-center |archive-date=2013-04-13}}
• Portage Canal Society{{cite web|url=http://www.portagecanal.org/ |title=Portage Canal |publisher=Portage Canal |date= |accessdate=2022-10-01}}
• Historic Portage Canal
• World War II History Museum
• Wisconsin State Historical Markers in PortageWisconsin Historical Society. [http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/pdfs/hp/HPR-Marker-List.pdf Official List of Wisconsin's State Historic Markers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225125837/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/pdfs/hp/HPR-Marker-List.pdf |date=2017-02-25 }}
• Fort Winnebago Surgeon's Quarters Historic Site
• Frederick Jackson Turner
• Jacques Marquette
• Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet
• Ketchum's Point
• Potter's Emigration Society
• Society Hill Historic District
• Zona Gale
• Veterans memorials
• Revolutionary War Veteran (Cooper Pixley and Alexander Porter)
• To Honor Pierre Pauquette
• To the Memory of Our Historic Dead
• Daughters of the American Revolution Historic Markers{{cite web|url=http://www.dar.org/national-society/historic-sites-and-properties |title=Historic Sites and Properties | Daughters of the American Revolution |publisher=Dar.org |date= |accessdate=2022-10-01}}
• Site of Fort Winnebago / Surrender of Red Bird
• Pierre Pauquette and East End of Wauona Trail
• Landing Place of the Ferry built by Pierre Pauquette

{{wide image|Portage, Wisconsin aerial photograph.jpg|200px|Wis-33 entering Portage over the Wisconsin River|100%|right|alt=Portage, Wisconsin aerial photograph}}

Portage lies in the Wisconsin River valley. The city is surrounded by prairies and grasslands. Approximately three miles (5 km) west of the city are the Baraboo bluffs. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|9.62|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which, {{convert|8.82|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.8|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2012-11-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|archive-date=2012-07-02}} The location of the town at the split of the Wisconsin and Fox river is what gives it the name "Portage", which means carrying a boat and its cargo between two navigable waters. In addition to the rivers, the city has access to Swan Lake and Silver Lake.

When Portage was first established, the streets were laid out on a traditional grid system. Today, the streets of the outlying city are contorted as a result of the many marshes and lowlands that run through much of Columbia County. The northern side of the city thus looks different from the central city, with the organized grid street system giving way to a more suburban streetscape with a lower housing density.

The city has two commercial areas. One is the downtown historic district, which features several small boutique shops and restaurants; the other is the Northridge commercial area that features big box stores. In the summer of 2007, the Portage Canal was cleaned up and now features a bike path that runs alongside part of it. In the summer of 2008, the main downtown street was redone. Historical landmarks of the city include the Museum at the Portage, the Indian Agency house, and the Surgeons Quarters.

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| collapsed = yes

| single line = yes

| location = Portage Wastewater Treatment Plant, Wisconsin (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1896–present)

| Jan record high F = 57

| Feb record high F = 72

| Mar record high F = 83

| Apr record high F = 99

| May record high F = 102

| Jun record high F = 104

| Jul record high F = 111

| Aug record high F = 103

| Sep record high F = 103

| Oct record high F = 93

| Nov record high F = 76

| Dec record high F = 67

| year record high F = 111

| Jan avg record high F = 45.7

| Feb avg record high F = 51.7

| Mar avg record high F = 66.3

| Apr avg record high F = 77.9

| May avg record high F = 85.9

| Jun avg record high F = 90.8

| Jul avg record high F = 92.1

| Aug avg record high F = 90.7

| Sep avg record high F = 87.5

| Oct avg record high F = 79.9

| Nov avg record high F = 64.5

| Dec avg record high F = 50.6

| year avg record high F = 94.3

| Jan high F = 26.1

| Feb high F = 30.6

| Mar high F = 42.4

| Apr high F = 55.7

| May high F = 68.2

| Jun high F = 77.9

| Jul high F = 81.6

| Aug high F = 79.9

| Sep high F = 72.6

| Oct high F = 59.3

| Nov high F = 44.2

| Dec high F = 31.8

| year high F = 55.9

| Jan mean F = 18

| Feb mean F = 21.9

| Mar mean F = 33.2

| Apr mean F = 45.8

| May mean F = 58

| Jun mean F = 67.9

| Jul mean F = 71.6

| Aug mean F = 69.6

| Sep mean F = 61.6

| Oct mean F = 49.2

| Nov mean F = 36.3

| Dec mean F = 24.4

| year mean F = 46.5

| Jan low F = 9.9

| Feb low F = 13.2

| Mar low F = 24

| Apr low F = 35.8

| May low F = 47.8

| Jun low F = 57.9

| Jul low F = 61.6

| Aug low F = 59.4

| Sep low F = 50.7

| Oct low F = 39

| Nov low F = 28.3

| Dec low F = 17.1

| year low F = 37.1

| Jan avg record low F = -11.7

| Feb avg record low F = -7.8

| Mar avg record low F = 3.2

| Apr avg record low F = 22.4

| May avg record low F = 34.1

| Jun avg record low F = 44.3

| Jul avg record low F = 51.1

| Aug avg record low F = 47.7

| Sep avg record low F = 36.5

| Oct avg record low F = 25.9

| Nov avg record low F = 13

| Dec avg record low F = -2.6

| year avg record low F = -15.2

| Jan record low F = -35

| Feb record low F = -37

| Mar record low F = -25

| Apr record low F = 5

| May record low F = 20

| Jun record low F = 29

| Jul record low F = 37

| Aug record low F = 33

| Sep record low F = 17

| Oct record low F = 8

| Nov record low F = -10

| Dec record low F = -24

| year record low F = -37

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation inch = 1.44

| Feb precipitation inch = 1.41

| Mar precipitation inch = 2.18

| Apr precipitation inch = 4.15

| May precipitation inch = 4.58

| Jun precipitation inch = 5.61

| Jul precipitation inch = 4.51

| Aug precipitation inch = 4.12

| Sep precipitation inch = 3.56

| Oct precipitation inch = 2.86

| Nov precipitation inch = 2.22

| Dec precipitation inch = 1.68

| year precipitation inch = 38.32

| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

| Jan precipitation days = 9.2

| Feb precipitation days = 8.3

| Mar precipitation days = 9.3

| Apr precipitation days = 11.6

| May precipitation days = 13.1

| Jun precipitation days = 11.6

| Jul precipitation days = 10.2

| Aug precipitation days = 10.4

| Sep precipitation days = 10.2

| Oct precipitation days = 10.4

| Nov precipitation days = 8.1

| Dec precipitation days = 9.5

| year precipitation days = 121.9

| Jan snow inch = 10.2

| Feb snow inch = 10

| Mar snow inch = 5.5

| Apr snow inch = 2.2

| May snow inch = 0

| Jun snow inch = 0

| Jul snow inch = 0

| Aug snow inch = 0

| Sep snow inch = 0

| Oct snow inch = 0.5

| Nov snow inch = 2

| Dec snow inch = 8.9

| year snow inch = 39.3

| unit snow days = 0.1 in

| Jan snow days = 6.8

| Feb snow days = 5.8

| Mar snow days = 3.4

| Apr snow days = 1

| May snow days = 0

| Jun snow days = 0

| Jul snow days = 0

| Aug snow days = 0

| Sep snow days = 0

| Oct snow days = 0.2

| Nov snow days = 1.5

| Dec snow days = 5.9

| year snow days = 24.6

| source = NOAA{{cite web

|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=mkx

|title = NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = March 28, 2024}}{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00476718&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL

|title = Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = March 28, 2024}}

}}

{{US Census population

|1850= 603

|1860= 2879

|1870= 3945

|1880= 4346

|1890= 5143

|1900= 5459

|1910= 5440

|1920= 5582

|1930= 6308

|1940= 7016

|1950= 7334

|1960= 7822

|1970= 7821

|1980= 7896

|1990= 8640

|2000= 9728

|2010= 10324

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}

|2020=10581}}

As of the census{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2012-11-18}} of 2010, there were 10,324 people, 4,060 households, and 2,349 families living in the city. The population density was {{convert|1170.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 4,493 housing units at an average density of {{convert|509.4|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 90.9% White, 5% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.0% of the population.

There were 4,060 households, of which 31% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.1% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.9.

The median age in the city was 37.2 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.6% were from 25 to 44; 24.8% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.7% male and 46.3% female.

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,728 people, 3,770 households, and 2,228 families living in the city. The population density was 1,172.9 people per square mile (453.1/km²). There were 3,970 housing units at an average density of 478.7 per square mile (184.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.76% European-American, 3.90% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.39% of the population.

There were 3,770 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.3 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,815, and the median income for a family was $44,804. Males had a median income of $33,158 versus $23,478 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,039. About 4.6% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Image:PostcardPortageWIPortageHighSchool1911.jpg

Portage Community School District serves Portage.{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st55_wi/schooldistrict_maps/c55021_columbia/DC20SD_C55021.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Columbia County, WI|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=2024-11-16}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st55_wi/schooldistrict_maps/c55021_columbia/DC20SD_C55021_SD2MS.txt Text list]

Portage High School was upgraded to a larger building in 1998, with the older high school building now housing the Wayne E. Bartels Middle School. Portage has two elementary schools: John Muir and Woodridge. Two rural elementary schools serve two of the towns in Columbia County: Lewiston and Fort Winnebago. There are also two private schools: St. John's Lutheran and St. Mary's Catholic Schools. Madison Area Technical College also has a campus located in Portage.

The Portage scheme of support for children with special educational needs was developed in the city.{{cite web | url=https://www.portage.org.uk/about/what-portage | title=What is Portage? | National Portage Association }}

Wisconsin Department of Corrections operates the Columbia Correctional Institution.

File:Portage station.jpg in Portage]]

Three interstate highways, Interstate 94, Interstate 90, and Interstate 39, run past Portage, giving the city a 30-minute commute to Madison and 15-minute commute to Wisconsin Dells. The city also lies only a few hours from Milwaukee, Chicago, and Minneapolis/ Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Portage station provides Amtrak service via the Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle or Portland, and the Borealis between Chicago and St. Paul, for a total of two trains in either direction daily. Freight railroad service is provided by the Canadian Pacific Railway which does business in the American Midwest as the Soo Line Railroad.

Portage is served by intercity bus from Milwaukee via Madison and to Wisconsin Rapids via Stevens Point, with a bus stopping in each direction daily at the Portage station.{{cite web|title=Transportation in Portage|date=11 February 2015|url=http://portagewi.com/transportation-in-portage/|publisher=Portage Area Chamber of Commerce|access-date=2017-02-27}}

Portage Municipal Airport (C47) serves the city and surrounding communities.

{{div col}}

• Earl Abell, member of the College Football Hall of Fame
• Alvin Alden, Wisconsin politician
• Walt Ambrose, NFL player
• Josiah D. Arnold, Wisconsin politician
• Levi W. Barden, Wisconsin politician
• Everett Bidwell, Wisconsin politician
• Peter J. Boylan, U.S. Army general, President of Georgia Military College
• Ben Brancel, Wisconsin politician
• Samuel S. Brannan, Wisconsin politician and newspaper editorA. J. Turner (ed.). [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1873 The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin: Comprising the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Wisconsin, Jefferson's Manual, Forms and Laws for the Regulation of Business, etc.] 12th ed. Madison: Atwood and Culver, 1873, p. 441.
• Llywelyn Breese, Wisconsin politician, former Secretary of State
• Guy W.S. Castle, Medal of Honor recipient
• Maureen Clark, U.S. Olympian
• William W. Corning, Wisconsin politician
• Jeffrey Dahmer, imprisoned at Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage
• Luther S. Dixon, Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Thomas E. Fairchild, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals
• Russel C. Falconer, Wisconsin politician
• Zona Gale, writer, first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama, 1921
• Charles Randall Gallett, Wisconsin politician
• B. Frank Goodell, Wisconsin politician
• Henry Gunderson, lieutenant governor of Wisconsin
• Joshua James Guppey, Union Army general
• Frank A. Haskell, Union Army colonel, author of a noted account of the Battle of Gettysburg
• Philip Hayes, U.S. Army general
• Charles W. Henney, U.S. Representative
• John Edward Kelley, U.S. Representative from South Dakota
• Herman Lange, Wisconsin politician
• Margery Latimer, writer
• James J. Lindsay, U.S. Army general
• Wellington Porter McFail, aviator
• Hugh McFarlane, Wisconsin politician
• John Muir, naturalist
• William Owen, Wisconsin politician
• Russell W. Peterson, former governor of Delaware
• Russ Rebholz, head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame; head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team
• Ferdinand Schulze, Wisconsin politician
• Delphine Anderson Squires, suffragist and journalist
• Mike Thompson, NFL player
• Yellow Thunder, chief of the Ho-Chunk (or Winnebago) tribe
• Andrew Jackson Turner, writer, newspaper editor, politician
• Frederick Jackson Turner, historian, Pulitzer Prize winner
• Samuel K. Vaughan, Union Army general
• Joan Wade, Wisconsin politician
• Jabez H. Wells, Wisconsin politician'Wisconsin Blue Book 1899,' Biographical Sketch of Jabez H. Wells, pg. 765

{{div col end}}

File:Portage, Wisconsin.jpg| Looking south at DeWitt Street and MacFarlane Lane divide

File:PortageWisconsinSignWIS33.jpg| West side city limit sign on Highway 33

File:PortageWisconsinWelcomeSignWIS33.jpg|Welcome sign

File:Portage WI Post Office.jpg|Post office

File:HenryMerrellHousePortageWisconsinWIS33.jpg|Henry Merrell House

File:Portage Industrial Waterfront Historic District.jpg|Part of the Portage Industrial Waterfront Historic District

File:PortageRetailHistoricDistrictCookBetweenWisconsinDeWittWIS33.jpg|Part of the Portage Retail Historic District

File:Society Hill Historic District Portage WI.jpg|A house in the Society Hill Historic District

File:Portage Water Tower Near Pauquette Park.jpg|Portage Water Tower Near Pauquette Park

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Portage, Wisconsin}}

• [https://www.portagewi.gov/ City of Portage]
• [http://www.portagewi.com/ Portage Chamber of Commerce]

{{Columbia County, Wisconsin}}

{{Madison}}

{{Wisconsin county seats}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Wisconsin

Category:Cities in Columbia County, Wisconsin

Category:Portages in the United States

Category:County seats in Wisconsin

Category:Populated places established in 1854

Category:1854 establishments in Wisconsin