Medford is a city and county seat of

Taylor County, Wisconsin Taylor County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,913. Its county seat is Medford. It is mostly rural, lying roughly where corn and dairy farms to the south give way to forest and swamp to ...

, United States. The population was 4,349 at the 2020 census. The city is located mostly within the boundaries of the Town of Medford.

History

Medford is located on historic

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

forest land acquired by the United States in the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters. In 1864, the federal government authorized a grant of some of this land to subsidize railway construction through the area. The

Wisconsin Central Railroad Company Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, controlled by

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

financier

Gardner Colby Gardner Colby (1810–1879) was a prominent businessman and Christian philanthropist. He is the namesake of Colby College in Maine. Personal life Colby was born in Bowdoinham, Maine in 1810 and spent part of his childhood in Waterville, Maine. H ...

, obtained the

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

and constructed the railroad in the 1870s. The railroad company and a local lumber milling company laid out the city of Medford in 1875 and sold lots for twenty-five dollars each. The railroad named the new settlement after

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus on both sides of the Medford and Somervill ...

, the hometown of a railroad official. Medford shipped over 1.5 million

board feet The board foot or board-foot is a unit of measurement for the volume of lumber in the United States and Canada. It equals the volume of a board that is in length, one foot in width, and in thickness, or exactly liters. Board foot can be abbrev ...

of lumber by rail within a year of its establishment, and the area was soon clear cut for farming. The

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

organized Taylor County in 1875 and named Medford the county seat, leading to a dispute between the Wisconsin Central Railroad and the mill company over the location of the courthouse. The

Taylor County Courthouse Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

was ultimately constructed on land donated by the railroad company. In the 1960s and 1970s, Medford hosted an annual

Mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

festival, celebrating the town's claim to be the "Mink capital of the world."

Fur farm Fur farming is the practice of breeding or raising certain types of animals for their fur. Most of the world's farmed fur was produced by European farmers. In 2018, there were 5,000 fur farms in the EU, located across 22 countries; these area ...

s in the area make Taylor County a top mink producer in North America. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, in 2020, thousands of mink died of the virus after having contracted it from human workers.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 4,349. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 2,163 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.7% Asian, 0.7%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 2.1% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 4.6%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,326 people, 1,982 households, and 1,094 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,127 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.0%

, 0.5%

, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 1,982 households, of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.8% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age in the city was 43 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.6% were from 25 to 44; 25.7% were from 45 to 64; and 21.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,350 people. The population density was 1,243.9 people per square mile (479.9/km²). There were 2,034 housing units at an average density of 581.6 per square mile (224.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.69%

, 0.11%

, 0.18% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 0.57% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 1,947 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,278, and the median income for a family was $47,045. Males had a median income of $31,840 versus $23,955 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,962. About 4.3% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Medford has a mayor-council form of government. The mayor is elected for a two-year term. Each of the four city districts is represented by an alderperson, with two elected to two-year terms in alternating years.

Recreation

Medford City Park

Medford City Park, the city's principal community park, was established in 1890 and consists of . An extensive redevelopment program for the park was initiated in 1979. Equipment and facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, with dressing area and wading pool, playground equipment, four park shelters, two restroom facilities, one tennis court, four volleyball courts, one basketball court, two softball fields, a concession stand, nine recreation vehicle camping facilities, a skatepark, the "River Walk" which parallels the Black River for the majority of its way through the city, and picnic and barbecue areas along the walkway. The Medford millpond has been periodically dredged of sedimentation in an effort to improve fish habitat in the pond.

Grahl Park

Grahl Park consists of and is designed as an integral part of a residential subdivision and has pedestrian access points to surrounding neighborhoods from the west, north, and east. It has a Little League baseball field, basketball court, restroom facilities, park shelter, and playground equipment.

Pine Line Trail

The southern trailhead of Wisconsin's

Pine Line Trail The Pine Line Trail, also known as ''Price-Taylor Rail Trail'', is a multi-use rail-trail in Taylor County, Wisconsin, Taylor and Price County, Wisconsin, Price Counties in north-central Wisconsin. It is 26.2 miles long, running from farm country ...

, lies within Medford. The Pine Line Trail is an unpaved, multi-use

rail-trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corridor with active railways, li ...

extending just over to Prentice.

Curling Club

The Medford Curling Club is located on the south side of the city. The Mixed National Championships were most recently held here in 2009. There are four sheets of ice, a changing room, and a warming area inside.

Golf courses

The city has two golf courses, the Tee-Hi Golf Course and the Black River Golf Club.

Transportation

Major highways

Airport

*KMDZ – Taylor County Medford is served by the Taylor County Airport (KMDZ). It is located approximately three miles southeast of Medford. The airport handles approximately 7,000 operations per year, with roughly 93% general aviation and 7% air taxi. The airport has two asphalt runways; a 6,000-foot runway with approved GPS approaches (Runway 9–27) and a 4,435-foot crosswind runway, also with GPS approaches, (Runway 16–34).

Media

AM radio

WIGM WIGM (1490 AM) is a radio station, licensed to Medford, Wisconsin, United States, that broadcasts a sports format. The station is currently owned by WIGM, Incorporated, and features programming from CBS Sports Radio. In February 2019 WIGM cha ...

AM 1490, (

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

)

FM radio

* WKEB FM 99.3, ( Adult hits)

Newspaper

Star News ABP News is an Indian Hindi-language free-to-air television news channel owned by ABP Group. Initially launched as Star News in 1998, it was later acquired by the ABP Group (ABP). It won the Best Hindi News Channel award in the 21st edition ...

Education

Primary

* Medford Area Elementary School, public school serving grades PK-4 * Medford Area Middle School, public school serving grades 5–8 * Holy Rosary Catholic School, Catholic school serving grades PK-6 * Immanuel Lutheran School, Lutheran school serving grades PK-8

Secondary

* Medford Area Senior High School, public school serving grades 9–12

Post-secondary

* Northcentral Technical College West Campus

Health care

Aspirus Medford Hospital is a health care organization that operates a hospital, clinics, senior care facilities, and a skilled nursing care and rehabilitation facility in the Medford area. Featuring and extensive renovation done within the last 10 years, Memorial Health Center has been promoted to feature an Aspirus Heart and Vascular Institute.

Notable people

* Michelle Curran, United States Air Force officer and pilot *

Jeane Dixon Jeane Dixon (January 5, 1904 – January 25, 1997) was one of the best-known American psychics and astrologers of the 20th century, owing to her prediction of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, her syndicated newspaper astrology co ...

, psychic,

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

and astrologer * John Gamper, Wisconsin politician * Levi Withee Gibson, Wisconsin politician * Anthony J. Opachen, Wisconsin politician * John K. Parish, Wisconsin politician and jurist * Jack Perkins, actor *

Erny Pinckert William Ernest Pinckert (May 1, 1908 – August 30, 1977) was an American football halfback. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) under head coach Howard Jones. Pinckert played professionally in the Nationa ...

, football player *

Zachary Rhyner Zachary James Rhyner (born June 21, 1986) is a medically retired Combat Controller (CCT) in the United States Air Force who received the Air Force Cross (United States), Air Force Cross for his actions in the Battle of Shok Valley on 6 April 2008 ...

, Air Force Cross recipient * Steve Russ, Denver Broncos linebacker * Joe "Pep" Simek, co-founder of Tombstone Pizza and founder of Pep's Pizza *

Scott Suder Scott Suder (born September 28, 1968) is president of the Wisconsin Paper Council. Previously, he was a politician from Abbotsford, Wisconsin. He was the Republican Majority Leader of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 69th district ...

, Wisconsin politician * Clinton Textor, Wisconsin politician * Elias L. Urquhart, Wisconsin politician'Wisconsin Blue Book 1913,' Biographical Sketch of Elias L. Urquhart, pg. 685

Images

File:Medford Wisconsin Sign WIS13.jpg, Sign on

WIS 13 State Trunk Highway 13 (often called Highway 13, STH-13 or WIS 13) is a state highway running north–south across northwest and central Wisconsin. WIS 13 serves as a major north–south route connecting the communities of Wisconsin De ...

File:Medford Wisconsin Downtown WIS13.jpg, Business District

References

External links

City of MedfordMedford Chamber of Commerce
* Medford, Wis., county seat of Taylor County before the great fire May 28, 188
Library of Congress, map collection
* Sanborn fire insurance maps
189419011913
{{authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Taylor County, Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin