Portage station

Portage is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Columbia County. The city is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Portage was named for the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, a portage between the Fox River and the Wisconsin River, which was recognized by Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet during their discovery of a route to the Mississippi River in 1673. The city's slogan is "Where the North Begins."

The Society Hill Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 for its architectural significance.

The Zona Gale House is a historic house located at 506 West Edgewater Street in Portage, Wisconsin. It is locally and generally significant for its association with literature and unique architecture.

The Portage Community School District in Portage, Wisconsin, is a combination of seven elementary schools. The two centralized schools are Woodridge Elementary (Pre-K through 1) and John Muir Elementary (2 through 6). There are four outline schools, Fort Winnebago Elementary (K through 6) is located in Columbia County on the outer edge of Portage. Rusch Elementary (K through 6) is located in downtown Portage and is the second largest elementary school. Endeavor Elementary (K through 6) is located in Marquette County in the town of Endeavor. Lewiston Elementary (K through 6) is located in the outer land of Portage and is the smallest elementary school in the district. The Portage Community School District also encompasses the Wayne E. Bartels Middle School (7 through 8). The middle school was recently renamed in 2010 after the death of the principal Wayne Bartels. The school board unanimously decided to rename the school in his honor. The Portage Community School District is home to the Portage High School (9 through 12). Portage High School mascot is a ‘flying P’ for the Portage Warriors. The high school offers many opportunities for students to become involved in events, clubs, sports, and other activities. Portage High School offers: FBLA, FFA, Key Club, Skills USA, Student Council, German Club, Spanish Club, HOSA, GSA, Writing Club, Video Club, Cheerleading, Dance Team, Scrabble Club, Captain's Academy, Destination Imagination, National Honor Society, Student Tutors, Weightlifting Club, Art Club, Basketball, Baseball, Football, Wrestling, Marching Band, Choir, Swimming, Curling, Tennis, Golf, Track, Softball, Ski Team, Color Guard.

The Portage Industrial Waterfront Historic District is in Portage, Wisconsin.

The Henry Merrell House is located in Portage, Wisconsin.

Portage Municipal Airport (FAA LID: C47) is a city owned public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) northwest of the central business district of Portage, a city in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a local general aviation facility.

The Portage Canal was built to connect the Fox River and Wisconsin River at Portage, Wisconsin along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. For a time, it completed a route from the north Atlantic Ocean, through the St. Lawrence Seaway and down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, and back to the Atlantic.

The Columbia Correctional Institution (CCI) is an adult male maximum-security correctional facility operated by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Division of Adult Institutions in Portage, Columbia County, Wisconsin. The operating capacity is 541. The average daily population for fiscal year 2018 was 830. Larry Fuchs, the warden, has been in that position since April 2020.

Fort Winnebago was a 19th-century fortification of the United States Army located on a hill overlooking the eastern end of the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers east of present-day Portage, Wisconsin. It was the middle one of three fortifications along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway that also included Fort Howard in Green Bay, Wisconsin and Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Fort Winnebago was constructed in 1828 as part of an effort to maintain peace between white settlers and the region's Native American tribes following the Winnebago War of 1827. The fort's location was chosen not only because of its proximity to the site of Red Bird's surrender in the Winnebago War, but also because of the strategic importance of the portage on the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, a heavily traveled connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Fort Winnebago's location near the portage allowed it to regulate transportation between the lakes and the Mississippi. With the exception of the participation of troops from the fort in the 1832 Black Hawk War, Fort Winnebago was not involved in any combat operations during its occupation by the U.S. Army. Instead, the garrison, which from 1829 to 1831 included Lt. Jefferson Davis (later President of the Confederate States of America), was put to work in building a military road between Portage and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and assisting with the relocation of the Ho-Chunk Nation from Wisconsin to Minnesota during the 1840s. In 1845, the absence of any real threat to peace in the region prompted the abandonment of the fort. Nine years later the site was sold into private hands, and in 1856 a fire destroyed much of the fort.

The Leopold Wetland Management District is named after Aldo Leopold, who is widely acknowledged as the father of wildlife conservation in America. Leopold is perhaps best known as the author of A Sand County Almanac, a book compiled of essays written on his farm in central Wisconsin. In tribute to his philosophy, the Leopold Wetland Management District is dedicated to preserving, restoring, and enhancing wildlife habitat in Wisconsin for the benefit of present and future generations. The district, established in 1993, manages over 12,000 acres (49 km2) of waterfowl production areas (WPAs) in 17 southeastern Wisconsin counties, covering some of the most important waterfowl areas of Wisconsin. The district also administers 45 conservation easements, totaling 3,000 acres (12 km2), in 34 eastern Wisconsin counties. WPAs consist of wetland habitat surrounded by grassland and woodland communities. While WPAs are managed primarily for ducks and geese, they also provide habitat for a variety of other wildlife species such as non-game grassland birds, shorebirds, wading birds, minks, muskrats, wild turkeys, and deer.