Porthmadog

Porthmadog was established when William Alexander Madocks built the Cob- a sea wall which reclaimed a large proportion of the land from the sea for agricultural use. The town was called Portmadoc until 1974, when it was renamed to the equivalent Welsh spelling and pronunciation. The origin of its name is unclear. While some claim that the town is named after its founder Madocks, others say it was called after Ynys Madoc (Madoc Island) in the Glaslyn Estuary and its famous resident Madog ap Owain Gwynedd, a prince who, according to legend, discoverd America 300 years before Columbus. However, historical documents show that Madocks himself referred to the town as "Pentre Gwaelod" (translated roughly into English as Lower Village) and that the earliest documented references to Portmadoc emerges at around 1830 with no indication as to the reason.