Richland

On October 31, 1859, Richland Station was opened 318 feet east of here by Thomas Buntin on land later deeded by his heirs to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Five months later, a post office was established, and Buntin, already the station's agent, became the first postmaster. The town grew along the railroad. From May 1861 to February 1862, Camp Trousdale, a Confederate training camp named for Governor William Trousdale, was located in the vicinity. On April 10, 1888, Richland Station's name was changed to Portland, to avoid confusion with Richland in Grainger County. Portland has been home to conservationist James L. Bailey, authors, Opie Read, Rebecca Caudill, writer-humorist Elmer Hinton, and scientist-inventor Dr. Samuel Collins. In 1915, Sumner County High School became the first four-year public high school in the county. Since 1941, Portland has held the annual Middle Tennessee Strawberry Festival.