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Medford owes its origin in the early 1880s to
the decision of the Oregon and California Railroad to run its line through Bear
Creek Valley. It was at the "middle ford" of Bear Creek that the railroad
planned to cross the stream and start a new town. The name first chosen for the
site was Middle Ford. But railroad engineer David Loring was from Medford,
Massachusetts, and he soon shortened the name to Medford. The railroad tracks
reached Medford in January 1884. By the end of that year a substantial town had
arisen and a school district had been established. Medford was incorporated as a
town in 1885. Since 1955, Medford has operated under the Council-Manager form of
government. In its first 110 years, Medford has grown from a small town with
unpaved roads to the largest city in southern Oregon and the county seat. Today,
Medford continues to grow and flourish. Once primarily dependent on timber and
agriculture, Medford is now a thriving regional trade center with a growing
residential population, expanding medical facilities, growing retail
opportunities, ballooning economic development, increasing tourism and abundant
recreational opportunities.
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