Medford

History

Native Americans inhabited the area that would become Medford for thousands of years prior to European colonization of the Americas. At the time of European contact and exploration, Medford was the winter home of the Naumkeag people, who farmed corn and created fishing weirs at multiple sites along the Mystic River. Naumkeag sachem Nanepashemet was killed and buried at his fortification in present-day Medford during a war with the Tarrantines in 1619. The contact period introduced several European infectious diseases which would decimate native populations in virgin soil epidemics, including a smallpox epidemic which in 1633 killed Nanepashemet's sons, sachems Montowompate and Wonohaquaham. Sagamore Park in West Medford is a native burial site from the contact period, which includes the remains of a likely sachem, either Nanepashemet or Wonohaquaham. Medford was settled in 1630 by English colonists as part of Charlestown, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The settlement was originally called "Mistick" by Thomas Dudley, based on the Massachusett name for the area's river. Thomas Dudley's party renamed the settlement "Meadford". The name may have come from a description of the "meadow by the ford" in the Mystic River, or from two locations in England that Cradock may have known: the hamlet of Mayford or Metford in Staffordshire near Caverswall, or from the parish of Maidford or Medford (now Towcester, Northamptonshire). In 1634, the land north of the Mystic River was developed as the private plantation of Matthew Cradock, a former governor. Across the river was Ten Hills Farm, which belonged to John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony. In 1637, the first bridge (a toll bridge) across the Mystic River was built at the site of the present-day Cradock…

Geography

Medford is located at (42.419996, −71.107942). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (5.79%) is water. A park called the Middlesex Fells Reservation, to the north, lies partly within the city. This preserve is shared by Medford with the municipalities of Winchester, Stoneham, Melrose, and Malden. The Mystic River flows roughly west to southeast through the middle of the city. People from Medford often identify themselves with a particular neighborhood. * West Medford ** Brooks Estates * Fulton Heights/The Heights (North Medford) * Wellington (East Medford) * Glenwood * Lawrence Estates * South Medford * Medford Hillside ** Tufts University (mostly contiguous, situated on Medford Hillside)

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  166,781
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  152,221
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  138,284
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  128,388
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  128,150
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  127,878
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  122,194
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  108,490

Largest nearby schools

• Lexington High
  High · Lexington · 2,303 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• Everett High
  High · Everett · 2,231 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Newton North High
  High · Newtonville · 2,099 students · 10.9:1 ratio
• Cambridge Rindge and Latin
  High · Cambridge · 1,867 students · 8.7:1 ratio
• Malden High
  High · Malden · 1,856 students · 16:1 ratio
• Newton South High
  High · Newton Centre · 1,837 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Waltham Sr High
  High · Waltham · 1,751 students · 10.9:1 ratio
• Mystic Valley Regional Charter School
  Other · Malden · 1,608 students · 16.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2025-01-27
  9 km SE of York Harbor, Maine
• M 2.7 — 2023-12-23
  5 km SW of Chichester, New Hampshire
• M 2.7 — 2018-02-15
  0 km SE of East Kingston, New Hampshire
• M 2.6 — 2015-01-13
  2 km E of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 3.3 — 2015-01-12
  0 km NE of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 2.9 — 2010-06-07
  29 km SE of York Beach, Maine