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History · Medford

Medford’s post office opened in 1861, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1860.

1861first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Medford began

When was Medford founded?

1861

The Medford post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Medford Center (1860), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 353 in 18602020 census: 230165 years
Founding year: the first Medford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Medford’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Medford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Medford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Medford’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Medford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Medford.

Read it all →

In 1808 James Grover was the first white settler in what is now Medford. In 1820, the state opened a road from the Piscataquis River, which helped increase settlement.

In 1820, John Parker Boyd, owner of the eastern half of the town, erected a combination sawmill and shingle mill on the Piscataquis River. In 1824, the town incorporated as Kilmarnock, the name chosen by Boyd.

An 1825 fire destroyed over three-quarters of the buildings in town, as well as the large stand of pine trees used to supply the sawmill and shingle mill. The mill was saved, but later closed because the burning of the nearby trees had deprived the business of a steady supply of wood.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Medford, 1860 to 1947

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Medford Center post office opens
  3. 1861Post officeThe Medford post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904Post officeThe Medford post office closes
  6. 1909Post officeThe Medford post office opens
  7. 1940Post officeThe Medford Center post office closes
  8. 1945Post officeThe Medford post office closes
  9. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Medford, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Old Church, Medford, Maine, internal view image 32018Old Church, Medford, Maine, internal view image 3Old Church, Medford, Maine, internal view image 22018Old Church, Medford, Maine, internal view image 2Old Church, Medford, Maine, internal view image 12018Old Church, Medford, Maine, internal view image 1Old Church, Medford, Maine external view image 32018Old Church, Medford, Maine external view image 3Old Church, Medford, Maine external view image 22018Old Church, Medford, Maine external view image 2Old Church, Medford, Maine external view image 12018Old Church, Medford, Maine external view image 1Medford, Maine Town Office2018Medford, Maine Town OfficeWinter sunset 032010Winter sunset 03
On the map

Medford on the map, 1947 to 1988

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Medford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Medford on the 1947 USGS mapMedford on the 1978 USGS mapMedford on the 1988 USGS map1947Schoodic 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.

People over time

Medford, census by census

0100200300400190019502000Peak: 398

Between 146 and 398 people in every census since 1860.

16 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Medford’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Medford had its own post office from 1861 to 1904. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Medford Center
1860–1940
Medford
1861–1904
Medford
1909–1945
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Medford Center
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Medford
MedfordSchoodicUpper Ferry

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MaxfieldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLake View plantationIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMilo2 historic placesA−LagrangeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Medford’s history

What year was Medford founded?

The Medford post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.