Medford, Oklahoma

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Medford census division. It lies in ZIP code area 73759. The Survey maps it on the Medford quadrangle. 932 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,093 feet above sea level.

Medford within Grant County

On record in Medford

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Grant County Courthouselisted 1984
Medford Bathhouse and Swimming Poollisted 1988

Population over time

2 figures

Medford fell from 996 to 932 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	996
2020	932	-64 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 11 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1955 USGS Enid quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
1958 USGS Enid quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1968 USGS Medford quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1985 USGS Ponca City quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Medford: 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Copper. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Young	Copper	Occurrence	1978

Every working recorded in Grant County

Storms near this place

60 of 154 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Medford in 154 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 66 thunderstorm wind, 60 hail, 15 flash flood, 8 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$50,000	no account filed
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$10,000	no account filed
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$7,000	A roof was blown off a grain elevator by severe thunderstorm winds.
April 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$5,000	no account filed
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$5,000	no account filed
May 1998	Tornado (F1)	Medford	$5,000	no account filed
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$5,000	no account filed
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$4,000	The top of a grain storage bin was damaged.
April 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$2,000	Social media image showing a power pole snapped. Relayed by broadcast media. Time is radar estimated.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$100	Severe thunderstorm winds downed a large tree at a chuch.
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$10	Tree limbs up to three inches in diameter were blown from trees.
July 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	$10	no account filed
April 2026	Hail	Medford	-	An image was shared on social media. The location is approximate, and the event time is estimated based on radar observations.
April 2026	Hail	Medford	-	The report was relayed through mPING.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Medford (MEDF) Mesonet observation.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Medford (MEDF) Mesonet observation.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Medford (MEDF) Mesonet observation.
August 2025	Hail	Medford	-	A social media image was relayed by broadcast media. The location is approximate.
April 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Medford (MEDF) Mesonet observation.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Tree damage and 2 semi trucks on their side in Medford. Time is radar estimate.
May 2019	Flash Flood	Medford	-	Highway 81 closed due to flowing flood water.
May 2019	Flash Flood	Medford	-	Flood waters flowing over Hwy 11.
May 2019	Flood	Medford	-	Five to 7 inches of rainfall, especially eastern half of Grant county. Parts of SH-11, US-60, and SH-74 closed due to flooding.
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	No damage was reported.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	The wind gust occurred as a tornado moved to the south of the site.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	The wind occurred as a tornado moved southeast of the site.
April 2012	Tornado (EF1)	Medford	-	Soon after one tornado dissipated just south of Medford, another tornado developed just southeast of Medford. This tornado moved north-northeast damaging hundreds of power poles east of Medford toward Deer Creek and heavily damaging the Hohmann substation west of Deer Creek. When the tornado reached a point to the northwest of Deer Creek, the tornado began to curve to the east-southeast passing just north of Deer Creek and dissipating 2 or 3 miles east of Deer Creek. Near Deer Creek, the tornado damaged the valve of a 30000 gallon anhydrous ammonia tank causing a leak that could not be stopped for a few hours. Much of the path of this tornado is estimated since it moved primarily through farmland.
April 2012	Tornado (EF1)	Medford	-	This tornado developed just southwest of the town of Medford and remained south of town. The mesonet site southwest of Medford measured a wind gust 84 mph. A large barn was destroyed southwest of Medford, with debris scattered across the property. Many roadways leading in and out of Medford were closed due to fallen trees and power poles/lines.
April 2011	Hail	Medford	-	The hail was reported near the intersection of Highways 11 and 81.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Nickel-size hail was also reported.
May 2010	Tornado (EF0)	Medford	-	Tornado #A3. A brief tornado was observed southwest of the main tornado moving through Grant County. No damage was reported and the location is estimated.
August 2009	Flash Flood	Medford	-	Flash flooding was reported near the One Oak Plant, two to three miles southwest of Medford on Highway 81. Additional flooding was reported on CR M and M.
April 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Three wind gusts ranging from 60 to 69 mph were measured from 1120 to 1135 pm.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	No damage was reported with the wind gust.
May 2008	Hail	Medford	-	The report was relayed by an Oklahoma City television station.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	The wind gust was measured by a National Severe Storms Laboratory/University of Oklahoma Mobile Mesonet vehicle.
September 2008	Flash Flood	Medford	-	State Highway 11 was closed due to water running over the roadway.
September 2008	Flood	Medford	-	Numerous roadways were closed over the western half of the county due to overnight and early morning heavy rainfall.
September 2008	Flash Flood	Medford	-	US HIghway 81 was closed between Medford and Pond Creek due to water running over the roadway.
September 2008	Heavy Rain	Medford	-	The measured rainfall was 5.10 inches, much of it falling in a six to eight hour period.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
April 2004	Hail	Medford	-	Hail was reported covering the ground.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma Mesonet.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma Mesonet.
August 2003	Flash Flood	Medford	-	Highway 81 was closed from Medford to the Kansas state line due to high water over the road.
August 2003	Flash Flood	Medford	-	Twenty to twenty-five inches of water were reported over Highway 81. A vehicle floated off the road between Medford and Pond Creek.
August 2003	Flash Flood	Medford	-	Heavy rains produced flash flooding which closed Highway 11 from Medford to the Highway 74 junction.
April 2003	Hail	Medford	-	Hail was reported to cover the ground.
April 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Wind was reported at Highway 81.
March 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
April 2002	Flash Flood	Medford	-	Two feet of water was flowing across Highway 81.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
June 1997	Hail	Medford	-	Quarter-size hail was up to three inches deep.
June 1997	Hail	Medford	-	Hail as large as golf balls cut a swath across central and eastern Grant and western Kay Counties. Wheat crops along this path were completely destroyed. On Highway 11 between Deer Creek and Nardin, hail covering the highway to depths of up to 8 inches forced motorists to stop. Some homes in Deer Creek were reportedly damaged by the large hail. This entry represents the Grant County portion of the event.
June 1997	Flash Flood	Medford	-	Highway 81 two to three miles south of Medford was under water.
June 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Medford	-	measured at the Oklahoma Mesonet site
June 1997	Flash Flood	Medford	-	Highway 11 three miles east of Medford was under water.

Every storm recorded in Grant County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Clyde	5.4 miles	10
Jefferson	6.7 miles	10
Numa	6.8 miles	11
Renfrow	9.2 miles	10
Pond Creek	10.2 miles	10
Wakita	11.3 miles	10
Deer Creek	11.4 miles	11
Gilbert	11.4 miles	11

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Medford	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2879033	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1095284. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.