Portland is a city in San Patricio County, Texas, with portions extending into neighboring Nueces County, set on a high bluff along the north shore of Corpus Christi Bay and Nueces Bay directly across the water from Corpus Christi. Its position on one of the highest bluffs on the Texas Gulf Coast gives many streets long views over the bays, while the surrounding Coastal Bend plain ties the city to one of the state's busiest industrial corridors. The community was founded in 1890, when rancher, developer and state legislator John G. Willacy laid out a townsite on land he believed could serve as both a port and an agricultural settlement. Early growth was slow, interrupted by economic downturns and hurricanes, and Portland was not incorporated until 1949. A turning point came with the 1942 opening of the Reynolds Metals aluminum plant, which employed hundreds of workers and helped transform a small farming settlement into a residential and commercial community linked to Corpus Christi's industrial base. Today Portland functions largely as a suburban counterpart to Corpus Christi, with a population of roughly 20,400 recorded in the 2020 census. Much of the regional economy runs through the Port of Corpus Christi and the petrochemical, energy and manufacturing facilities along the bays, and many residents commute across the Harbor Bridge to Corpus Christi or to plants in Ingleside and Gregory. At the same time, the city has cultivated a quieter, family-oriented identity built around waterfront parks, a compact commercial core and a strong public school system. Residential growth has spread south into Nueces County over the decades, and the city blends established neighborhoods near the original townsite with newer subdivisions closer to the water. The result is a place that feels like a working waterfront town and a bedroom community at once, with recreation, industry and daily life all within a few minutes of the bays.