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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Medford (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Medford. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Medford is located in Jackson County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Oregon's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Jackson County: Siskiyou (CA), Douglas, Josephine & Klamath.

Below are the counties that are near Medford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Medford:

  • Jackson County     (The home county of Medford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Medford, with the one closest to Medford listed first.
    • Central Point
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Point
      • Central Point is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central Point <2>
    • Phoenix
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phoenix have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
      • Phoenix is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,678 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phoenix <2>
    • Jacksonville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • White City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White City <2>
    • Talent
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Talent have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talent
      • Talent is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,700 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Talent <2>
    • Sterlingville ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sterlingville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterlingville
      • Sterlingville is located in Jackson County
    • Eagle Point
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Ruch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Gold Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brownsboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsboro
      • Brownsboro is located in Jackson County
    • Sams Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sams Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sams Valley
      • Sams Valley is located in Jackson County
    • Ashland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Buncom
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buncom
      • Buncom is located in Jackson County
  • Josephine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Medford, with the one closest to Medford listed first.
    • Williams
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Fruitdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
      • Fruitdale is located in Josephine County
    • Murphy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Grants Pass
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • New Hope
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
      • New Hope is located in Josephine County
    • Redwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
      • Redwood is located in Josephine County
    • Placer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placer
      • Placer is located in Josephine County
    • Wilderville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Medford, see our County-by-County Page for Medford.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Medford ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 105 newspapers that have been published in the area around Medford.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Medford. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Medford and those printed in the larger area surrounding Medford.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4> of Medford.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Medford:

Cemeteries Near Medford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Medford.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Medford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Medford, with the one closest to Medford listed first.

  • Siskiyou Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Siskiyou Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Siskiyou Memorial Park
  • Medford IOOF Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Medford IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Medford IOOF Cemetery
  • Nichols Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nichols Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nichols Cemetery
  • Memory Gardens Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memory Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memory Gardens Cemetery
  • Memory Gardens Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery
  • Griffin Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Griffin Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Griffin Creek Cemetery
  • Central Point IOOF Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Central Point IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Central Point IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Central Point IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Central Point IOOF Cemetery
  • Phoenix Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Phoenix Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Phoenix Cemetery
  • Jacksonville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Dunkard Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dunkard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dunkard Cemetery
  • Sterling Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sterling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sterling Cemetery
  • Continue List   (44 more) ...
    • Sterlingville Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Stearn Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stearn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stearn Cemetery
    • Logtown Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Logtown Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<4> to the southwest of Ruch.
      • The Logtown Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Log Town Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Logtown Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39053 <5>

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Medford had a population of 967 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Medford had a population of 83,412 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Medford, with the one closest to Medford listed first.

  • Central Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Point
    • Central Point is located in Jackson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,117 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central Point <2>
  • Phoenix
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phoenix have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
    • Phoenix is located in Jackson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,678 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phoenix <2>
  • Jacksonville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Talent
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Talent have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talent
    • Talent is located in Jackson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,700 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Talent <2>
  • Table Rock
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Table Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Rock
    • Table Rock is located in Jackson County
  • Wellen ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellen
    • Wellen is located in Jackson County
  • Tolo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tolo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolo
    • Tolo is located in Jackson County
  • Eagle Point
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Gold Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ashland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Sams Valley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sams Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sams Valley
    • Sams Valley is located in Jackson County
  • Brownsboro
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsboro
    • Brownsboro is located in Jackson County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Draper ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Draper have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
      • Draper is located in Jackson County
    • Rock Point ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Point
      • Rock Point is located in Jackson County
    • Beagle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beagle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beagle
      • Beagle is located in Jackson County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Medford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Medford.

The official website for Medford: www.ci.medford.or.us/

The official website for Jackson County: www.co.jackson.or.us/

The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Medford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Medford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3279, Longitude: -122.8692    
<5>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Medford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024