In southeastern San Patricio County on a bluff overlooking Nueces and Corpus Christi Bays, the town was a dream of John G. Willacy, who merged the New England Land Co. of Portland, Maine; New England Real Estate Co.; and Portland Harbor and Improvement Co. of Wichita, Kan., into a working unit. He purchased 1,920 acres of land from Coleman-Fulton Pasture Co. in 1891. The post office authorized it on March 9, 1891. Incorporated in 1949, the town forms an almost perfect triangle with Portland, Maine, and Portland, Ore.