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Medford, Wisconsin

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1980. It stands in Medford City. It lies in ZIP code area 54451. The Survey maps it on the Medford quadrangle. 4,349 people lived here at the 2020 count.

Research this city

Medford within Taylor 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 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Medford grew from 4,326 to 4,349 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.

YearPeople Change
20104,326
20204,349+23 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 6 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

133 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 133 fires within 5 miles of Medford between 1992 and 2018, burning about 93 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 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
Debris and open burning65
Equipment and vehicle use27
Missing data/not specified/undetermined22
Arson/incendiarism5
Other causes4
Recreation and ceremony3
Fireworks2
Smoking2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
7 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 September 2001Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
23 September 1998Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
23 August 1992Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 August 2012Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
20 August 2000Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
16 August 1994Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 July 2013Fireworksunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Taylor County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 30 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 30 workings within 5 miles of Medford: 19 past producers, 6 occurrences, 3 unknowns, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. 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
Stetsonville Clay PitClayPast Producer
Anderson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Apple Avenue Gravel DepositSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Bauer PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Black River Gravel Deposit #2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Black River Gravel Pit #2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Black River Gravel Pit #3Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Black River Gravel Pit #4Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Buehler Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Correction Creek Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Taylor County

Storms near this place

60 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Medford in 60 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 35 thunderstorm wind, 18 hail, 3 heavy rain, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 death. 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 1999LightningMedford1 killedno account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindMedford$40,000no account filed
June 1999HailMedford$30,000no account filed
July 2023HailMedford$25,000Broadcast media reported tennis ball sized hail near Medford.
June 2005Tornado (F0)Medford$25,000no account filed
July 2023HailMedford$20,000Emergency manager reported golf ball sized hail at the fairgrounds in Medford.
July 2023HailMedford$20,000Public reported hen egg sized hail near Medford.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindMedford$20,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the southern part of the county with no specific location given.
August 2000HailMedford$15,000no account filed
March 1998HailMedford$15,000no account filed
June 2009FloodMedford$10,000Flooding was reported along County Road M, which closed one lane. There were also reports of washouts in some nearby backyards. In fact, a large part of a back yard of a residence near the intersection of County Road E and M was washed into a lake.
August 2000HailMedford$8,000no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindMedford$7,000no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindMedford$6,000no account filed
December 2021Thunderstorm WindMedford$5,000A farm outbuilding was damaged west of Medford.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindMedford$5,000no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindMedford$4,000Law Enforcement reported numerous trees and power lines down in Medford. Power outages were also reported.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindMedford$3,000Trees and power lines were blown down in Medford.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindMedford$3,000A few trees and at least one power pole were blown down just outside of Medford.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindMedford$2,500Law enforcement reported trees down in the city of Medford.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindMedford$2,500no account filed
May 2017Thunderstorm WindMedford$2,000Trees were blown down west of Medford.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindMedford$2,000Power lines were blown west of Medford.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindMedford$2,000Trees were blown down onto County Road O west of Medford.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindMedford$2,000The emergency manager reported power lines and a tree down in the city of Medford.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindMedford$2,000Several large trees were blown down in the city of Medford.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindMedford$1,500no account filed
August 2000Thunderstorm WindMedford$1,500no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindMedford$1,000Trees were blown down in Medford.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindMedford$1,000Law enforcement officials reported trees, power lines, and light poles blown down.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindMedford$1,000no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindMedford$1,000no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindMedford$1,000no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindMedford$750no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindMedford$500A carnival tent was blown over at the Taylor County Fair.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindMedford$500The emergency manager reported trees down in Medford.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindMedford$500The general public reported a tree down across a roadway eight miles west of Medford.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindMedford$250no account filed
July 2024Tornado (EF0)Medford-This weak EF-0 started northwest of Medford, mainly producing tree damage along a 1 mile long path before lifting 2 minutes later. The damage path was identified with video footage of the tornado and drone footage provided by Taylor County Emergency Management.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindMedford-Broadcast media reported several uprooted and snapped trees in the city of Medford.
October 2024HailMedford-The public reported quarter sized hail.
August 2016Heavy RainMedford-In Medford, 4.33 inches of rain fell.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindMedford-Amateur radio operators estimated a 70 mph wind gust in Medford.
September 2010Heavy RainMedford-The storm total rainfall amounted to 3.40 inches. Also, the cooperative observer in Jump River measured a total rainfall of 3.27 inches.
September 2009HailMedford-Hail covered the ground but the largest hail stones were the size of quarters.
June 2009Heavy RainMedford-A rainfall amount of 3.51 inches was reported.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindMedford-Several trees blown down and one tree partially blocking Highway 13.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindMedford-A large area of low pressure over the Upper Mississippi Valley triggered isolated severe thunderstorms over northwest, north-central, and southwest Wisconsin. Hail up to nickel-size fell and there were reports of large trees and power lines downed by the powerful winds in Bloomingdale (Vernon County), and in Medford (Taylor County).
June 2012HailMedford-no account filed
August 2005HailMedford-no account filed
September 2004Thunderstorm WindMedford-no account filed
April 2002HailMedford-no account filed
April 2002HailMedford-no account filed
April 2002HailMedford-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindMedford-no account filed
March 1998HailMedford-no account filed
July 1995HailMedford-no account filed
July 1995HailMedford-no account filed
July 1995HailMedford-no account filed
September 1995Thunderstorm WindMedford-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Taylor 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
Little Black2.3 miles6
Stetsonville4.5 miles6
Whittlesey5.9 miles6
Murat6.6 miles8
Chelsea10.6 miles10
Interwald13.2 miles9
Goodrich13.5 miles9
Rib Lake14.2 miles8

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 Q531515The 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 1569306. 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.