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The
Middleford Myth Medford was never named
"Middleford." There has never been a town named "Middleford" in the
Rogue
Valley.
"Middleford" was
reported in a newspaper one
time as a name under consideration--as the newspapers
also reported "Phippstown," "Grand Central" and "East
Jacksonville"--but reminiscences from those actually present at the
deliberations remember the first name suggested as "Midford," not
"Middleford." The Ashland Tidings, And Medford was not built "at
the middle ford in the valley." There was no ford at the
Medford site. The ford referred to was the one on the road leading to
the McAndrews ranch, a half mile north of the townsite. The truth is more subtle: The
"Med" in "Medford" is because it's in the middle of the valley; the
"ford" refers to one of several fords in the valley--the one north of
town. And Medford is called
"Medford"--instead of "Midford" or "Middleford"-- Below are all the newspaper
citations and reminiscences known about the naming of Medford,
including the one that became the source of the Middleford myth. OUR DEPOT--The Grand Central railroad depot has been located at last and the company have decided on putting it on the land owned by C. W. Broback, C. Mingus, C. C. Beekman and I. J. Phipps. It is on a corner owned by the four above mentioned parties but the depot property will be on the land owned by Broback. A town site will be laid out and property offered for sale. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, November 3, 1883, page 3 The name of our depot is still in doubt, some calling it East Jacksonville, while others persist in naming it Phippstown. "Grand Central" seems to have dropped behind.--Sentinel. ("East Jacksonville" is pretty good. Better call it North Phoenix or West Eagle Point.) Ashland Tidings, November 23, 1883, page 3 Chas. Howard, of Jacksonville, is engaged in surveying the new town site at the central depot in Manzanita precinct. About 200 acres will be laid off in town lots. A name for the town has not yet been finally adopted, but "Medford" or "Middleford" has been suggested by the railroad people, we are told. "Railroad Notes," Ashland Tidings, November 30, 1883, page 3 C. W. Broback, one of the proprietors of the new town down the valley, was in Ashland Wednesday. He says "East Jacksonville" is "no go." "Personal," Ashland Tidings, November 30, 1883, page 3 Medford was surveyed in December of 1883; the plat was recorded on December 20th. The name on the original town plat is "Medford." The central station in the valley is to be called Medford, and the one at Chavner's bridge is named Bedford. With the passengers coming from the south it is all right, as they can commence undressing at Medford before reaching Bedford. "Local Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, December 15, 1883, page 3 Wiser heads prevailed, and "Bedford" became Gold Hill. Richard Koehler, a resident of Oregon for more than half a century and for many years operating head of the Southern Pacific Company lines in this state, informs the compiler that the town of Medford was named by David Loring who was at the time of construction a civil engineer connected with the right-of-way operations for the Oregon and California Rail Road Company. The railroad was opened to traffic from Grants Pass to Phoenix in 1884. The name was apparently applied shortly before that date. Mr. Loring who was for many years later a resident of Portland, was a native of Massachusetts and selected the name of Medford in honor of Medford, Massachusetts. Lewis A. McArthur, "Oregon Geographic Names," Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 3, September 1926, page 340 David Loring, of Portland, who named the city of Medford, informed the compiler in August, 1927, that while the form of the name was suggested by Medford, Massachusetts, he really named the new community in Oregon because it was situated at the middle ford on Bear Creek [there was no ford at the Medford site]. Lewis A. McArthur, "Oregon Geographic Names," Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 3, September 1927, page 297 Medford was founded in 1883 by Iradell J. Phipps and the name of the town was suggested by him on account of its location in the middle of the valley, probably first called Midford. "Coming of the Railroad and Medford's Founding," by Alice Applegate Sargent, Medford Mail Tribune, January 31, 1932, page 3 Five miles east of Jacksonville, in the very heart of this beautiful Rogue River Valley, the railroad planned to start a new town and the name first selected was Middleford, as David Loring, the railroad engineer claims because Bear Creek was forded at this place, but Loring happened to have lived in Medford, Mass., and so he shortened the name of the new townsite to Medford. "Medford History Dates from Railway Inception," Medford Mail Tribune, February 28, 1932, page 3 [This widely disseminated bit of sloppy history is the source of the Middleford myth, which was unknown before 1932. Bear Creek was not forded at Medford; the ford referred to was at McAndrews Road. It is unknown whether Loring ever lived in Medford, Massachusetts; he was a native of nearby Concord, Mass.] NAMING MEDFORD
Elsewhere on this page is a letter from Emil Peil, Ashland, Or.,
merchant, who states that he was present when the naming of the town of
Medford was under discussion and that Medford was chosen for its
meaning--that is, because the new town was in a "middle" position in
the valley.
This is in direct contradiction to the ordinary version, which is to the effect that David Loring, a civil engineer engaged on the railroad construction through the valley [he was a civil engineer, yes, but his job was securing the right of way for the railroad], selected the name in honor of Medford, Mass. The latter version is the one given by Lewis A. McArthur in his Oregon Geographic Names, and he cites Richard Koehler, long operating head of the Southern Pacific in Oregon, as his authority. However, it may be that both sides in the discussion are right. In all probability Mr. Loring did suggest the name in the manner recounted, but in talking it over between the railroad officials and the Jacksonville folk [Even though this is how Emil Peil also remembered, it seems more like that Loring discussed it with townsite owners I. J. Phipps and C. W. Broback, not the "Jacksonville folk"], its appropriateness was what was considered. Whether or not the name was finally chosen because of its meaning of "middle," the fact remains that someone must have thought of it in the first place and must have had a reason for calling it to mind. The evidence is that Mr. Loring was the one who proposed the name and that he did so as a result of his memory of Medford, Mass. The name apparently was first used just before the railroad from Grants Pass to Phoenix was opened to traffic in 1884. Oregonian, Portland, January 30, 1933, page 6 The Name "Medford."
To the Editor: In the Monday issue of The Oregonian, January
23, in the "Those Who Come and Go" column, I read the statement that
Medford, Or., was named in honor of Medford, Mass. This is a mistake,
as in the fall of 1883 I heard the discussion between railroad
officials and Jacksonville people as to the name to be given the new
town, being located in the middle of the valley. They decided on
Medford, meaning "the middle ford." The Jacksonville people, being
somewhat jealous of the new town so near, called it "Chaparral City"
for some time, as the location was overgrown with the shrub.
EMIL
PEIL.
Ashland, Or. Oregonian, Portland,
January 30, 1933, page 6
At Jacksonville I met some railroad officials and learned that they were trying to get Jacksonville to put up money to have the railroad pass through the town. The Jacksonville people thought the railroad would have to come there, so they refused any bonds. The officials decided to leave Jacksonville out and establish a town on the railroad about four or five miles from Jacksonville. I happened to be present when they were discussing a name for the proposed town. David Loring was a civil engineer employed by the right-of-way department of the Ore. & Calif. Railroad Company. One official wanted to name the new town something that would signify that it was midway between Central Point and Phoenix. He suggested "Medfort." [sic--the word is partly obliterated in the typescript and may be a transcription error for "Midford."] The others objected to this, so they compromised on "Medford." The railroad was opened to traffic from Grants Pass to Phoenix in 1884. Emil Peil, quoted in A Peil-Nail Family History, undated typescript compiled by Sharon Peil Morrow, SOHS vertical file The new town was named Middleford because it was situated at the middle of three fords on Bear Creek, but David Loring, a railroad engineer who had lived in Medford, Massachusetts, suggested the change to the present name. Oregon: End of the Trail, Federal Writers' Project 1940, page 188 The WPA writers were repeating the 1932 errors. Richard Koehler, a resident of Oregon for more than half a century and for many years operating head of Southern Pacific Company lines in this state, told the compiler that the town of Medford was named by David Loring who was at the time of construction a civil engineer connected with the right-of-way operations for the Oregon and California Rail Road Company. The railroad was opened to traffic from Grants Pass to Phoenix in 1884. The name was apparently applied shortly before that date. In August, 1927, David Loring was living in Portland, and in conversation with the compiler confirmed Mr. Koehler's statement. Mr. Loring said that while the form of the name was suggested by Medford, Massachusetts, he really named the new community in Oregon because it was situated at the middle ford on Bear Creek [see above]. Mr. Loring was a native of [Concord,] Massachusetts. People in Jacksonville were not enthusiastic about the new rival community of Medford and referred to it as Chaparral City. Lewis A. McArthur, "Oregon Geographic Names," Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 44, 1944, page 206 Last revised August 8, 2009 |
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