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Medford, Oregon

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Medford census division. It lies in ZIP code area 97501. It stands on Crooked Creek. The Survey maps it on the Medford West quadrangle. 85,824 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,382 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Medford within Jackson 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 12 of 45 shown

Every listing in Jackson County

Population over time

14 figures

Medford grew from 967 to 85,824 between 1890 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.

YearPeople Change
1890967
19001,791+824 (+85%)
19108,840+7,049 (+394%)
19205,756-3,084 (-35%)
193011,007+5,251 (+91%)
194011,281+274 (+2%)
195017,305+6,024 (+53%)
196024,425+7,120 (+41%)
197028,973+4,548 (+19%)
198039,746+10,773 (+37%)
199046,951+7,205 (+18%)
200063,154+16,203 (+35%)
201074,907+11,753 (+19%)
202085,824+10,917 (+15%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 23 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.

Fires near this place

118 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 118 fires within 5 miles of Medford between 1992 and 2020, burning about 932 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 16 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Equipment and vehicle use36
Debris and open burning18
Arson/incendiarism16
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Power generation/transmission/distribution11
Natural7
Fireworks6
Recreation and ceremony4
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Smoking3
Other causes1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2017Smokingunder an acreOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersSOUTH STAGE 4760
8 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMedford DistrictN ROXY
5 September 2007Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMedford UnitS. STAGE
26 September 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMedford UnitCHERRY LANE
22 September 2008Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMedford UnitDARK HOLLOW
21 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined633 acresMedford UnitDEER RIDGE
2 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMedford Unit3645 PIONEER
18 September 2008Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMedford UnitGLORY C

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jackson County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 42 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 42 workings within 5 miles of Medford: 31 past producers, 8 producers, 2 prospects, 1 occurrence. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Gold. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Blue BucketGoldOccurrenceVein
Blue BucketGoldProspect
Gold MineGoldPast Producer
Jackson Mining CompanyGoldPast Producer
Jacksonville PlacerGoldPast Producer
Jacksonville Placer 5GoldPast Producer1851
Unnamed ProspectGoldProspect
Bob SwindlerStonePast Producer
Bob SwindlerStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Brownsboro Pit & PlantStonePast Producer

Every working recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

15 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Medford in 15 storm reports between 1995 and 2015: 10 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2015Thunderstorm WindSouth Medford-The Mail Tribune newspaper and the police scanner indicated that numerous trees were knocked down in the Medford area. Some fell into power lines, causing multiple power outages. Other fell into vehicles and homes. Lightning also was the suspected cause of at least one structure fire.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindMedford-A member of the public reported trees down at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
June 2012HailMedford-This warning was issued based on radar reports. A threshold VIL density for 1 inch hail was determined with ground truth earlier in the day and this warning was issued based on radar returns exceeding that threshold. Therefore it is assumed that this storm produced 1 inch or larger hail at some point in its lifespan.
August 2010HailMedford-This employee also reported 0.96 inches of rain.
August 2010HailMedford-Reported by Scott Lewis at KDRV television station.
August 2010HailMedford-A trained spotter 1 mile from the airport on Merriman Road reported hail that dented the roof of his car. He also measured 0.20 inches of rain.
August 2003HailMedford-Spotter JA40 in northeast Medford reported 3/4 inch hail and heavy rain.
August 2003HailMedford-Thai Bistro reported 3/4 inch hail covering ground at Stevens and Biddle.
August 2003HailMedford-Spotter JA61 in northeast Medford reported 3/4 inch hail.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindMedford-See below.
August 1999Thunderstorm WindMedford-Spotter reported one tree and lots of limbs blown down.
August 2010HailMedford-no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindMedford-no account filed
July 1995HailMedford-no account filed
July 1995HailMedford-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jackson 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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Perrydale (historical)3.4 miles23
Central Point4.0 miles23
Bybee Corner4.1 miles23
Four Corners4.4 miles23
Phoenix4.7 miles23
Jacksonville4.9 miles23
Seven Oaks5.6 miles23
Talent7.2 miles22

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 MedfordAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q836663The 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 1124040. 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.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

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.