Medford, Oregon
Encyclopedia : M : ME : MED : Medford, Oregon
Medford is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It was named in the 1880s by a civil engineer working for the Oregon and California Railroad for his home town of Medford, Massachusetts. As of the 2005, the city had a total population of 70,860. It is the county seat of Jackson County[Geographic references#6GR6].
Medford is home to the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport.
Economy
Medford's economy is centered largely around agriculture (pears, peaches, and vinticulture grapes) and timber products. The largest direct marketer of fruits and food gifts in the United States, Bear Creek Corporation, is based in Medford. It is the second largest employer in Oregon, with 3,500 year-around employees and about 10,000 seasonal. Bear Creek was founded in 1886 to market the harvest from the orchards of the Rogue Valley.As there are no towns of equal or larger size within several hours' drive, Medford has a regional hub for medical services. The two major medical centers in the city employ over 2,000 people. As Medford is also a retirement destination, assisted living and senior services have become an important part of the economy.
Medford and the surrounding area is home to an expanding [wine industry] that includes a large variety of Bordelaise and Burgundian varietals including merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, chardonnay, zinfandel, pinot noir, gewürztraminer, riesling, pinot gris, chardonnay, pinot blanc, early muscat, and gamay noir.
Up until the early 1980's Medford was home to approximately two dozen lumber mills that produced particle board, plywood and board lumber. Most of these mills operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week with two one-week shutdowns per year for equipment rebuilding and maintenance (Christmas and Independence Day). Within a five year time period the majority of these mills shut down as the area had been mostly logged out. Protection of the spotted owl closed down what lumber reserves were left, and by 1988 only MedCo and Stone Container operated lumber mills with any regularity. The resulting local depression caused an exodus of mill workers from the area and a depressed housing market, which resulted in an influx of retired people from California that sought cheaper costs of living and year-round warm weather, much to the ire of long term residents which saw them as outsiders that did not appreciate the local culture and way of life. However, the new residents contributed to the improvement of the local economy by fixing properties in "less desirable" parts of Medford, increasing home values for others, as well as investing time and money into local improvements and starting new small businesses. An unforeseen consequence of rising property values is the flight of members of Generation X and Generation Y, who cannot afford to buy homes in the area; the loss of younger generations and influx of older, retiring generations is creating a cycle of escalating property values and loss of young professionals.
Fishing tourism is also a substantial part of the local economy with guided drift boats and extensive salmon fishing on the Rogue River. Other local tourist draws are Lost Creek Dam, Lake of the Woods, Crater Lake, and hunting for blacktail deer.
History
Medford was incorporated as a city in 1885. Located along the path of the Siskiyou Trail, Medford was founded on the Oregon and California Railroad line in the Bear Creek Valley, which is part of the greater Rogue Valley. The name was given to Medford by a railroad engineer from Medford, Massachusetts named David Loring.The city was divided by the construction of I-5 in the 1950s: the downtown and inner neighborhoods are on the west side of the freeway while the more affluent neighborhoods are on the east side. As a result, Medford has struggled for decades with urban decay affecting its core. West side renewal has come in the last decade, however, through a boom of new residential construction.
A ballot measure to block building an interchange that would improve access between the two parts was rejected in the general election of November 5, 2003. Supporters claimed that it would only move traffic congestion from one location to another, while civic and business leaders warned it would cost the city $38 million in state and federal funds.
Geography & Climate
Medford is located at (42.331998, -122.861874)[Geographic references#1GR1].According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 56.2 km² (21.7 mi²), all land.
Medford is also situated in the remains of ancient volcanic flow areas as demonstrated by the [Upper and Lower Table Rock] lava formations and nearby [Mount McLaughlin] and Crater Lake, the remains of Mount Mazama. In the late spring/early summer the snow formations on the peak of Mount McLaughlin melt away into a formation called the "angel wings", which Native American tribes used as an indicator of when the salmon spawn began.
Medford sits in a "weather 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 very dry and sunny. Summer weather in Medford is characterized by "ninety days over 90 degrees", with temperatures over 100 common in July and August. In August 1980 the temperature stayed over 110 degrees for over a week, with two days reaching 117 degrees. Medford also experiences air inversions in the winter producing fog so thick that visibility is oftentimes measured as being less than five feet. These air inversions commonly last four to six weeks. Medford only rarely sees snow - averaging less than an inch every two or three years.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 63,154 people, 25,093 households, and 16,511 families residing in the city. In 2005 the population was estimated at 71,000 people. The population density was 1,123.7/km² (2,910.5/mi²). There were 26,297 housing units at an average density of 467.9/km² (1,211.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.99% White, 0.50% African American, 1.07% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 3.87% from other races, and 3.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.25% of the population.There were 25,093 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,481, and the median income for a family was $43,972. Males had a median income of $34,533 versus $23,714 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,170. About 10.3% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- Allison Machado, Miss Oregon USA 2006
- [Chip Wright], nationally ranked martial arts competitor
- [Chad Cota], former retired NFL star, owner of InfoStructure, resident of Medford.
- Leon Hunsaker, longtime television meteorologist (worked at KOBI-TV and KTVL), is now an author.
- Lisa Rinna, soap opera star and Dancing With The Stars (USA) competitor, grew up in Medford.
- Jeff "Wolly tree barker" Wollschlager-Professional snowmobiler-lives in Medford
- Bruce Campbell, Famous B-List Actor
Sister City
Medford has one sister city:
Sources: [link], [link]
External links
- [City of Medford official website]
- [Official Tourism Site]
- [Downtown Medford official website]
- [the Mail Tribune, Medford's daily newspaper]
- [The Medfordist, Medford's Alternative News Site]
- [Real Estate Services in Medford, Ashland, & Southern Oregon]
- [Oregon Blue Book entry for Medford]
- [Maps and aerial photos]
- * Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
- * Topographic map from [TopoZone]
- * Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
- * Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Windows Live Local]
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