ner as to form a connection between the termini
of the principal railroad routes, and to give them a
direct access to the shipping in the harbor, or to
the large warehouses where the vessels are laden
and unladen.

The principal public buildings in Portland, be-
sides the churches, are the City Hall, under which
is a market, standing at the junction of Middle
and Congress Streets, built of brick, with a pedi-
ment and portico; the old Custom House, on
Pore Street, of hammered granite; and the Ex-
change, an elegant structure, 136 feet in length
by 72 in width, on the corner of Exchange and
Middle Streets. The colonnade of the Exchange,
in front, consists of 8 columns, 24 feet high, each
shaft being a single stone, beautifully fluted, and
crowned by an Ionic capital. The edifice is sur-
mounted bv a dome, the top of which is 75 feet
above the ground. This building, erected by the
city as an Exchange, was purchased by the United
States government in 1848, and is now used fora
custom house, post office, and the United States
court rooms.

On a promontory at the eastern end of the
city, rising about 100 feet above the water, stands
a tower, 70 feet high, erected in 1807, by the
merchants of Portland, for the purpose of ob-
serving vessels at sea. It is furnished with a
large telescope, and with signals to be raised on
the approach of vessels making this port. This
position commands a most extensive and beauti-
ful prospect in all directions, embracing the At-
lantic Ocean as far as the eye can reach ; Casco
Bay, to the mouth of the Kennebec, with the
numerous verdant and beautiful islands reposing
upon its bosom; the Agamenticus Hills, in York;
and the whole range of mountains on the borders
of New Hampshire, from Ossipee, near Lake
Winnipiseogee, to the White Mountains, which
constitute the crowning feature of the landscape.
The serene, majestic form of Mount Washington,
as it stands in clear relief against the distant
heavens, is here a most impressive object; while
below, “in the immediate vicinity,'' as one has
said of it, “ lie the city and adjacent country, as a
gem in its emerald setting.''

The Portland Athenaeum, incorporated in 1827,
has a valuable library of over 6000 volumes, with
a steady annual increase. It is kept in a conven-
ient room, over the Canal Bank. The Society
for promoting a Knowledge of Natural History
has a valuable collection of minerals and shells,
specimens in zoology, ornithology, &c.

There are 18 churches in Portland, belonging
to nine different denominations. One of the
church edifices is of stone, and several are of
brick, generally in handsome situations. The
first parish was organized in 1727, and has now,
after a period of 125 years, only its third minister,
never for an hour having been destitute of a pas-
tor since the year of its formation.

The public schools of Portland, embracing
about 3000 children, are of a high order of excel-
lence. Among them are a classical school for
boys, a high school for girls, and four grammar
schools, two for boys and two for girls. These
schools are supported at an annual expense to
the city of 12,000 or $15,000. There is also an
academy, and numerous private schools, all af-
fording superior privileges for instruction.

A company was incorporated in 1849 for light-
ing the city with gas, which is rapidly extending
through all parts of it this pleasant improvement.

A neiE impulse has been given to the pros-
perity or Portland by the introduction of rail-
roads. Her advantages as a seaport, and her
relations to the surrounding country, are such,
that her intelligent capitalists and merchants
were not slow to perceive their inducements for
enlisting earnestly in this branch of internal im-
provement. The Portsmouth, Saco, and Port-
land Railroad, completing the line from Boston
to this city, was opened in 1842. In 1844, the
movement was commenced towards the con-
struction of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Rail-
road, and two companies were organized, one in
Maine and the other in Canada, which com-
menced, at their respective ends of the line, the
great undertaking of uniting the waters flowing
from the great lakes at Montreal and Quebec
with the Atlantic at Portland, a distance, as the
route runs, of 290 miles. This entire route is
under contract to be finished in 1853, and large
sections of it, on each end of the line, are already
in operation. This great work will cost aoout
$5,000,000. Another great route, extending east-
ward, is opened from Portland as far as Waterville,
within 45 miles of Bangor. This is expected
hereafter to be continued to the British provinces
of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The Ken-
nebec and Portland Railroad is another route,
independent of the above, extending E. to Au-
gusta, 65 miles, passing through Brunswick, and
connecting Portland with the Kennebec River at
the prominent points of Bath, Gardiner, Hallowell,
and Augusta. Besides these, another interior
railroad is commenced, to extend from Portland,
through Gorham, Buxton, Hollis, Alfred, &c., to
South Berwick. This road is open to Gorham.
A branch from the St. Lawrence road has also
been opened from Mechanic Palls to Buckfield,
a distance of 12 miles.

Among the enterprises of labor and skill which
have come in to meet the demands created by
these extensive improvements is that of the
Portland Company, a large manufacturing estab-
lishment, in which are made the locomotives, cars,
and all the apparatus and appurtenances for rail-
roads, as well as other work in wood and iron. It
is incorporated, with a fixed capital of $100,000.

The Cumberland and Oxford Canal; extend-
ing through Sebago and Long Ponds, one 12
and the other 10 miles long, a distance of 50
miles from Portland, was a work of earlier con-
struction than the railroads, which furnishes an
inland navigation for the counties of Oxford and
Cumberland to Portland Harbor.

The harbor of Portland is one of the best in
the United States, being near the ocean, easy of
access, safe and ample, with sufficient depth of
water for the largest vessels. It is not obstruct-
ed with ice, except occasionally in the most ex-
treme cold weather. This city, from its relative
position, enjoys fine advantages for trade and
commerce. When all the great projects for ex-
tending its internal communication shall be com-
pleted, it will offer very strong inducements, from
its high northern latitude, and its nearness to the
great marts of Europe, as a port for the ship-
ment of the products of the great north and west,
which are increasing in a ratio unparalleled in
any other country.

The settlement of Portland was commenced
in 1632, by George Cleaves and Richard Tucker,
two adventurers from the west of England, who
procured a grant of it, in 1637, from Sir Francis