WELCOME TO
Portage The Portage Area Chamber of Commerce proudly welcomes you to Historic Portage: a wonderful tourist destination, a great place to raise your family and the right location to grow your business. Our significant historical heritage, small-town charm and seasonal recreational opportunities create a desirable setting in which to live, work and play. Mentioned as one of the best places in the entire U.S. for first time homebuyers1 and in the top third of locations to start a business in Wisconsin,2 Portage is the ideal destination for you. Portage possesses a wealth of reliable employment, great neighborhoods, stable industries, educational opportunities, outdoor recreational resources and excellent healthcare facilities. We are one of 31 Wisconsin communities to be recognized for working toward improving health in the community, achieving a bronze level inaugural Healthy Community Designation in 2018.3 With a population just over 10,000 and a regional population exceeding 55,000, Portage, the county seat for Columbia County, has a vibrant downtown, lively arts center and many museums providing living lessons in history. Home to two Pulitzer Prize winners, historian Frederick Jackson Turner and novelist Zona Gale, Portage builds on their legacy by supporting and promoting the arts. Portage Center for the Arts (PCA), with its Drury Gallery and Zona Gale Theatre, showcases local artists’ works and offers stellar performing arts programming throughout the year. Along with the PCA in the downtown, visitors can revel in the district’s renaissance with the addition of Columbia County administration offices along the canal, billiards hall, coffee house, artisan food market, wine bar, new yoga and photography studios and several specialty shops and diners.
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Tourists will enjoy vast historical experiences at the Historic Indian Agency House, Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters, Museum at the Portage, American Legion State Headquarters & Museum, Women’s Civic League, World War II History Museum and refurbished section of the Portage Canal. Outdoor enthusiasts will take pleasure in the recreation provided by the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers and Cascade Mountain, the Midwest’s largest ski resort, offering great skiing, tubing and snowboarding. Whether you are interested in visiting our community or you are looking to relocate and make Portage your home, we invite you to explore all that we have to offer. https://lendedu.com/blog/best-cities-first-time-homebuyers/ https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/small-business/places-start-business-wisconsin 3 https://www.wihealthycommunities.org/designees/ 1
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