Portland, Oregon, chief city (population was 375,690 in 1959; 568,380 in 2007) and largest in the state, and county seat of Multnomah County, situated just above the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, the "vacation capital" of the Pacific Northwest, in the midst of a magnificent landscape.

There are over 300 churches in Portland; but of Mennonite churches there are only the Portland Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), the Rock of Ages Rescue Mission (Mennonite Church), and the Alberta Community Church (General Conference Mennonite Church) in this vast area. There are only some 125 Mennonites living in Portland's vicinity; within 100 miles to the south of Portland there are approxi­mately 1500 Mennonites, most of whom are farm­ers. Directly north of Portland across the Columbia River, which is the Oregon-Washington line, there is a small United Missionary Church group. The Mennonites came to Oregon in 1890, and to Portland in 1922.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 205. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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