Located 50 miles from downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, Portage Township has emerged as a growing residential, commercial, and industrial center. Portage became a town in 1959 and attained city status in 1967, but the region's history begins with the indigenous Wey Indians of the 1700s and the Potowotamie, whose land was sold in 1834. Pioneers then settled the land alongside immigrants. For many generations Portage has offered a new beginning to those who sought work, political asylum, or simply a better life.