Medford

Sister cities

• Alba

History

In 1883, a group of railroad surveyors headed by S.L. Dolson and David Loring arrived in Rock Point, near present-day Gold Hill. They were charged with finding the best route through the Rogue Valley for the Oregon and California Railroad. Citizens of neighboring Jacksonville hoped that it would pass between their town and Hanley Butte, near the present day Claire Hanley Arboretum. Such a move would have all but guaranteed prosperous growth for Jacksonville, but Dolson decided instead to stake the railroad closer to Bear Creek. The response from Jacksonville was mixed, but the decision was final. By November 1883, a depot site had been chosen and a surveying team led by Charles J. Howard was hard at work platting the new town. They completed their work in early December 1883, laying out 82 blocks for development. James Sullivan Howard, a merchant and surveyor, claimed to have built the town's first building in January 1884, though blacksmith Emil Piel was advertising for business at the "central depot" in the middle of December 1883. Others point out the farms of town founders Iradell Judson Phipps and Charles Wesley Broback, which were present before the town was platted. and again as a city in 1905. Howard held the position of postmaster for Medford's first ten years, and again held the post at the time of his death on November 13, 1919. The beginning of the 20th century was a transitional period for the area. Medford built a new steel bridge over Bear Creek to replace an earlier one which washed away three years before. Without a bridge, those wanting to cross had to ford the stream, typically using a horse-drawn wagon; the first automobile did not arrive in Medford until 1903. Pharmacist George H. Haskins had opened a drugstore just after the town was platted,…

Geography

Medford is located approximately north of the northern border of California. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Medford is situated in the remains of ancient volcanic flow areas as demonstrated by the Upper and Lower Table Rock lava formations and nearby Mount McLoughlin and Crater Lake, which is the remains of Mount Mazama. Medford sits in a rain shadow between the Cascade Range and Siskiyou Mountains called the Rogue Valley. As such, most of the rain associated with the Pacific Northwest (and Oregon in particular) skips Medford, making it drier and sunnier than the Willamette Valley. Medford's climate is considerably warmer, both in summer and winter, than its latitude would suggest, with a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa). Summers are akin to Eastern Oregon, and winters resemble the coast. Here, summer sees an average of 61 afternoons over and 11 afternoons over . In August 1981, the high temperature reached over for four consecutive days, with two days reaching . Freezing temperatures occur on 64 mornings during an average year, and in some years there may be a day or two where the high stays at or below freezing; the average window for freezing temperatures is October 23 through April 23. The city is located in USDA hardiness zone 8. Medford also experiences temperature inversions in the winter which during its lumber mill days produced fog so thick that visibility could be reduced to less than . These inversions can last for weeks; some suggest this is because the metropolitan area has one of the lowest average wind speeds of all American metropolitan areas. The heavy fog returns nearly every winter with the inversions lowering air quality for several months without relief.…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  14,952
• Acorn Woodpecker

  Melanerpes formicivorus (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  14,521
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  12,963
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  12,477
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  11,751
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,618
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  11,404
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,378

Largest nearby schools

• South Medford High School
  High · Medford · 1,870 students · 24.6:1 ratio
• North Medford High School
  High · Medford · 1,701 students · 22.7:1 ratio
• Logos Charter School
  Other · Medford · 1,146 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• Eagle Point High School
  High · Eagle Point · 999 students · 19.2:1 ratio
• Hedrick Middle School
  Middle · Medford · 996 students · 21.7:1 ratio
• McLoughlin Middle School
  Middle · Medford · 915 students · 19.9:1 ratio
• Scenic Middle School
  Middle · Central Point · 844 students · 30.1:1 ratio
• Table Rock Elementary
  Elementary · White City · 717 students · 15.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.63 — 2025-09-06
  23 km WSW of Mount Hebron, CA
• M 2.95 — 2023-08-08
  28 km ENE of Pistol River, Oregon
• M 2.52 — 2023-01-05
  25 km WNW of Klamath Falls, Oregon
• M 3.22 — 2022-06-20
  11 km WNW of O'Brien, Oregon
• M 2.5 — 2021-11-07
  6km SW of Dorris, CA
• M 2.62 — 2021-02-08
  23km SW of Mount Hebron, CA