MEDFORD

city, Middlesex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies along the Mystic River just north of Boston. It was founded in 1630, when Mathew Cradock settled a plantation there; its English place-name is descriptive of a middle ford. Farming and fishing were early enterprises. Shipbuilding in Medford began in 1631 with Blessing of the Bay, one of the first oceangoing ships to be built in America. Later, the city's merchants were active in the triangular trade by which rum made from West Indian sugar was traded for African slaves, who in turn were sold to the West Indies. Medford's economy is now based on services and trade. It is the site of Tufts University, founded in 1852. Several colonial buildings are preserved, including the Isaac Royall House, which was built in the 1730s, and the 17th-century houses of Jonathan Wade and Peter Tufts. The Mystic River Reserve is a popular area for fishing and hiking. Inc. town, 1695; city, 1892. Pop. (1990) 57,407; (1996 est.) 56,190. city, seat (1926) of Jackson county, southwestern Oregon, U.S., in the Rogue River valley, on Bear Creek. Founded in 1883 as a depot on the Oregon and California (now Southern Pacific) Railroad, it was named for Medford, Mass., and grew as a shipping point for pears and lumber. The heart of a resort region that includes Crater Lake National Park and Oregon Caves National Monument, it is headquarters for the Rogue River National Forest and a trading centre for fruit, dairy, and truck-farm produce. Timber, pears, and tourism are its economic mainstays. Jacksonville (q.v.), Oregon's most picturesque historical settlement, is 5 miles (8 km) west. Inc. 1885. Pop. (1990) city, 47,021; Medford MSA, 146,389; (1994 est.) city, 52,611; (1995 est.) Medford-Ashland MSA, 166,060.