Portage River (Ohio)

It most likely derives its name from early explorers who were forced to portage or carry their canoes and boats around the river's intermittent shallows and rapids.

In 1850 the Ohio legislature passed the first of several laws mandating the draining of the Great Black Swamp into the Portage and Maumee rivers.

Drainage system changes have caused the Portage River to shift the location of its mouth at least twice in the past three hundred years.

Maps recorded in 1754 show the mouth near the present location of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.

Due to PCB contamination, the Ohio EPA recommends no more than one meal per month of channel catfish and common carp caught in the Portage River.