Historic Preservation

Welcome to the Medford Landmarks and Historic Preservation website. This website serves two purposes:  

Click on the 'Medford History' tab to explore Medford’s past through a variety of interesting media including photographs, surveys, and an interactive map.
 
Click on the 'Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission' (LHPC) tab to learn about the work of the LHPC, including  easy-to-access information for owners of historic property within the Historic Preservation Overlay. Here you will find links to guidelines and procedures for historic review of changes and improvements to historic properties, a listing of Commissioners, minutes of past meetings, and news of LHPC activities.  

Medford History

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Postcard image looking east at Front and Main streets ca. 1908, courtesy of Vicki Bryden.

Incorporated in 1885, Medford, Oregon began as a muddy railroad town in 1883. Early in the 20th century, population and financial growth spurred by real estate speculation known as the “Orchard Boom” established Medford as a regional urban center. By the mid-1920s, the city had also become an aviation leader, claiming the first public airport and only airmail stop in Oregon, and in 1927 Medford became the county seat. Later in the century, the establishment of Camp White during World War II, the post-war lumber industry boom, and the expansion of regional medical services further shaped Medford’s growth and character.

 

 

 

 

The History of Medford

Destined to become the region’s largest city and a major economic hub, Medford began in 1883 when the railroad came to Southern Oregon.  

 In the fall of 1883, four property owners deeded part of their land to the Oregon and California Railroad for a depot and surrounding town. Before the year was over the unbroken prairie had been surveyed and a town site platted. Houses and commercial buildings rose as quickly as the short supply of lumber and brick allowed, and by early spring two hotels, several saloons, a livery stable, and half a dozen stores already dotted the muddy streets of this rapidly growing railroad town. By mid-1884, a business district clustered on Front Street facing the depot, and then spread down 7th Street, known today as Main. Families settled into their newly built homes, women planted flowers in their gardens, and the fledgling town quickly became a community.

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During that first year several babies were born, a fatal shoot-out took place, the first of many churches organized, a schoolhouse was built, and trains began shuttling freight and passengers to Portland. As if to say “we have arrived,” Medford’s citizens brashly hosted a Fourth of July gala for the whole Rogue Valley.

Medford incorporated in 1885. As the small town grew into a city, the board of trustees tackled the challenges of providing water and sewer systems, electric streetlights, and police and fire protection. With its central location and railroad connections to national and world markets, young Medford attracted forward-thinking individuals from other parts of the country. They swiftly joined local entrepreneurs in shaping the city’s future as it eagerly embraced the modern world of the 20th century.

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With railroad access to distant markets, the orchard industry flourished. Hundreds of thousands of apple and pear trees were planted in the early 1900s, and commercial fruit became the Rogue Valley's major export. Promoters widely advertised the Rogue Valley as an agricultural Mecca, and Medford became one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. By 1910, there was such a housing shortage that a tent city grew up on the edge of town.

Medford’s burgeoning population and an infusion of capital from wealthy easterners transformed the modest town into a sophisticated metropolis. Between 1909 and 1911, many of Medford’s most impressive buildings, including Sacred Heart Hospital on the city’s developing east side, were erected. By 1912, Medford supported a high school, three elementary schools, a city park, a new passenger depot, and a Carnegie library. A roller-skating rink, indoor swimming pool, several movie theaters, and an opera house provided entertainment. Over 21 miles of wooden pipe brought mountain water to the city. Residents had electricity and telephone service. Hundreds of automobiles rumbled over 18 miles of paved streets. Fruit warehouses and packing sheds were built near the train yard, and Medford became the shipping and commercial center of the county. The economy was strong, Medford’s four banks prospered, and life was good until the Orchard Boom went bust.

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When the nation entered World War II, Medford transformed into a military town. Construction of Camp White, a nearby Army training post, began about six weeks after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The Army also took over the city airport, and Medford buzzed with wartime activity. As construction began on Camp White, around 10,000 workers—followed by nearly 40,000 soldiers—flooded the area, bringing prosperity back to the city.

Increased demand for lumber during and after the war sparked a boom for Medford’s timber industry. With railroad access and several expanding mills, the city became the regional focus for wood products processing and shipping. From the 1940s until the mid-’70s, timber production drove Medford’s economy and became a way of life for many residents. Following earlier patterns of boom and bust, economic and environmental issues in the 1970s and ’80s eventually ended Medford’s timber reign.

As the lumber industry lagged, the health industry grew. The construction of two major hospitals, Rogue Valley Memorial in 1958 and Providence in 1966, set Medford well on its way to becoming the major regional medical center that it is today. New neighborhoods built to meet the growing demand for post-war housing expanded Medford’s boundaries. Over the next several decades, shopping malls and suburban living pulled day-to-day activity away from the city center.

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Today, support from the Medford Urban Renewal Agency, in cooperation with business and property owners, is rejuvenating the downtown historic district, now on the National Register of Historic Places. Restoration projects, infrastructure improvements, and community events are helping to build a downtown Medford grounded in its forward-looking and diverse past.  

Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission

The Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission (LHPC) reviews proposals for exterior changes to historic properties and sites located within the Medford Historic Preservation Overlay zone.  Established to protect, enhance, and perpetuate historic structures, sites or districts of special historic value, the Historic Preservation Overlay covers the Downtown Historic District, the South Oakdale and Geneva-Minnesota Historic Districts, the Corning Court Ensemble, and individual structures and areas listed on the National Register. See Historic District Maps for boundaries. Read more about Medford's Historic Districts and the LHPC.