Medford dates to 1630, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #75 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
31 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and four historic districts with 51 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Medford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Medford is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #75 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Medford’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Medford’s 13.3 sits below most of its state (30% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 79 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1630.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Medford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Native Americans inhabited the area that would become Medford for thousands of years prior to European colonization of the Americas. At the time of European contact and exploration, Medford was the winter home of the Naumkeag people, who farmed corn and created fishing weirs at multiple sites along the Mystic River. Naumkeag sachem Nanepashemet was killed and buried at his fortification in present-day Medford during a war with the Tarrantines in 1619. The contact period introduced several European infectious diseases which would decimate native populations in virgin soil epidemics, including a smallpox epidemic which in 1633 killed Nanepashemet's sons, sachems Montowompate and Wonohaquaham. Sagamore Park in West Medford is a native burial site from the contact period, which includes the remains of a likely sachem, either Nanepashemet or Wonohaquaham. After the 1633 epidemic, Nanepasheme…
John Cutter of Medford and Mary (Hill) ; called Jr. at time of marriage ; he was foreman in one of the Medford distilleries; afterward kept toll house at Cambridge bridge; died in Boston, July 27, 1800, and was laid in Granary burjing ground ; Rebecca, his widow, a resident of Medford, drew a pension, 1S40; their daughter, Rebecca, married Isaac Sprague, a ship builder of Medford. (Cutter genealogy and pension records.) Taxed in Medford, 1784, '85, '86, '88. [The town records give date of birth as above, but other records, one year later.]
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In September, 1775, several Medford men enlisted for the campaign against Quebec under Arnold. On September 13 the expedition started from Cambridge and camped for the night in Medford. Tradition says some of the men slept in the meeting house. They proceeded the next morning to Newburyport where they embarked for the Kennebec. Joshua Reed and Richard Cole reached home in January and February, 1776, but Samuel Ingallsof Stoneham, who was a member of the Medford
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Medford, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1770s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Medford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Boston sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Medford.
Every building
Medford, building by building, 1887–1910
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1630, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Medford’s post office opened in 1797, and the first U.S. census counted 1,029 people here in 1790.
How does Medford rank for history?
Medford is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #75 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Medford?
31 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 24 buildings, among them the Isaac Royall House (a National Historic Landmark since 1960), 4 historic districts with 51 contributing buildings, and 3 structures. 79 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Medford?
49% of Medford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1942.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (31), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
1776
1907–1915
1907–1915
