Portland Penny decides the name of Portland, Oregon

Background. Francis Pettygrove and Asa Lovejoy are remembered as founders of the settlement first known as The Clearing. According to the traditional account, each man wished to name the site after his home town—Pettygrove for Portland, Maine, and Lovejoy for Boston, Massachusetts. This rivalry led to the famous coin toss of 1845, as reported, which determined the city's name. Some historians have described the city's early establishment as a "scion of New England; an ends-of-the-earth home for the exiled spawn of the eastern established elite."

The Coin Toss. The decision was made using a specific copper matron head one-cent coin, later known as the Portland Penny. The toss was conducted in 1845, requiring two out of three wins. Pettygrove won the toss, resulting in the town site becoming known as Portland, Oregon, rather than Boston. This event solidified the name choice for the fledgling settlement.

Incorporation. Portland was incorporated on February 8, 1851. At that time the city had over 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, the Weekly Oregonian. Some historians have characterized the city's early establishment as a "scion of New England; an ends-of-the-earth home for the exiled spawn of the eastern established elite," a description of its founding character rather than of the incorporation itself.