Medford was incorporated in 1885. Is situated on the west bank of Bear Creek, on the line of the Southern Pacific Railroad and has a population of 2,500. The business part of the town has well-built brick and stone buildings equaling in size and cost the business centers of many towns twice its size. All branches of trade, industry and all professions have able representatives. It is a city of churches, there being nine comfortable church buildings. A large public school building, water works, electric light plant, four mill, two banks, two hotels and a large number of business houses. Most of the business men are from the East and Middle West, and are bright fellows who have a good trade and carry large stocks of goods. Medford, lying as she does in the heart of the valley, has naturally become the chief trading point for a large country. There are opportunities for a man who has money to invest, in and about Medford. Fruit canneries, dyers, manufactories and almost any kind of business would pay, and in many cases pay well.
    Do not come to Oregon and expect to find a snap. The rush of homeseekers is beginning to arrive--most of them men of moderate circumstances. Many of them have an idea that land can be bought very cheap here and when brought to the realization that good land is not sold for a song, they fold their tents and silently steal away. Now and then an Eastern farmer drifts into town with his pockets full of money. If he has the price he can find the land that is all right; but mind you, it would take several New York State farms to buy a good one here--I mean a good improved farm of 160 acres near Medford; one that a farmer could go onto, commence farming and make a good living from the start. Real estate agents are thick as the hair on a dog. They always have just what you want; the land will grow almost anything from hay to oranges, and on account of sickness of the owner they will sell it to you for almost next to nothing. If you ever come West look out for yourself; look well before you buy land; take your time, look around and do not buy the first thing you see because some fellow says it is cheap. There is lots of land--a little good and a whole lot of it no good at all. You are expected to pay more or less for climate, but look out that you do not buy all climate. There are many good chances for the Eastern farmer and young business man in Oregon. Do not expect too much or any soft soaps, as there were people here ten years ago looking for the same thing.
Excerpt, Frederick A. Thomas, "Valley of the Rogue River," Pulaski Democrat, New York, May 18, 1904, page 4


    This town occupies a position in Jackson County, Oregon, similar to that of Montague in Siskiyou County, and Redding in Shasta County, California. These three towns represent the chief centers of railroad traffic for their respective counties, and, singularly enough, each has superseded, at least to some extent, an old-time mining town situated in each case six or eight miles from the railroad, and to the west. Yreka is still the center of commerce for Siskiyou County, and Jacksonville has also managed to hold her own quite well. These towns were able to do this by building short branch railroads to the Southern Pacific line. But the old town of Shasta in Shasta County was handicapped from doing this because of the natural and topographical conditions. Medford, like Redding, has seen phenomenal growth.
    Medford should be ranked as the best business point in Jackson County, and further than that is declared by some unbiased people to be the town of greatest energy and enterprise in Southern Oregon. It is the center of an excellent fruit, stock, dairy, hay and grain district, and is by no means inclined to allow the mining resources of Jackson County to go unnoticed either.
    The famous Olwell fruit farm, whose apples are alike noted in Europe and the Orient, is located within four miles of Medford. The fruit possibilities of this district have only recently been brought much to light, and it is an easy prediction that this locality will someday be rated with the best fruit-producing section of the Pacific Coast.
    The stock, hay and dairying industries are all being developed, and as already implied, the geographical situation of Medford marks it for one of the coming interior towns of the state of Oregon.
    The business men are alive also to the timbering resources of eastern Jackson County, or all that district drained by the upper Rogue River, and occupying the western slope of the Cascade Mountains. It is evident that the business interests will unite, if necessary, to extend an electric road to tap that territory. Toward the establishment of a big lumber and box factory now operating at Medford, the business men went down into their pockets and contributed the sum of $3,000. Toward the establishment of a foundry and machine shop they did the same for $1,000. A prominent business man told the writer that the town could be depended upon to raise $10,000, if necessary, to land the Blue Ledge railroad at Medford. All this shows an excellent spirit for a town of scarce 3,000 people. It is this spirit that has made Medford what it is and has given it its high standing among the Coast's interior towns.
Mineral Wealth, Redding, August 1, 1904, pages 4-5


    Times haven't changed so much in the past quarter century, one learns from a review of some old newspapers owned by N. S. Bennett, Medford nurseryman. Life is geared a little higher, perhaps; it doesn't take so long to get from one place to another, but the public's interests are about the same now as at the beginning of the 20th century, news and advertisements in the mellowed journals indicate.
    The predecessor of the Mail Tribune, the Medford Mail, in its weekly issue of July 1, 1904, had the choice of featuring the Japanese-Russian war, then raging, or a local baseball game and the latter was favored, just as baseball today has edged out, for the time being at least, the conflict between Italy and Ethiopia.
    The baseball game, which was played here the previous Sunday, June 26, 1904, ended in a 2-1 victory for Jacksonville over Medford and a tie for second place between the two teams in the league, then led by Ashland, with Gold Hill at the bottom.
    Among the Medford players in the game were Bill Hutton, pitcher, Blackie Moore, shortstop, Frank Northrup, right field, John Wilkinson, left field, Frank Isaacs, center field, and Claud (Shorty) Miles, second base, then the youngest player in the league.
    Mr. Hutton is now engaged in mining, with headquarters in Grants Pass. Blackie Moore comes to town occasionally, Mr. Northrup may be found in Aberdeen, Mr. Wilkinson is with the McCurdy & Daniels insurance agency, Frank Isaacs, brother of Toggery Bill, is an orchardist, and Shorty Miles was heard only today reminiscing about the old days when local baseball contests brought out large crowds of fans who would bet anything on a game, including their last shirt.
    In the Jacksonville lineup of that old game were Lewis Ulrich, now head of the national employment service here, and Charles Strube, now president of the San Francisco Seals.
    The Mail gives a whole column on page one to the game, and it must have been a whiz, for listen to this quote: "In the fifth inning occurred Medford's only score and also was the scene of the first instance of a batter stealing first base that has ever come under the observation of the writer, and he has been a student of the game for several days.
    "After Wilkinson had flied out to Ulrich, Isaacs adjusted his batting eye and landed a 3-sacker into center field. The ball came back to Collins at short, and he and Lester tried one of those old-time tricks. Lester stepped into the box as if in the act of delivering the ball, when in fact he had no ball.
    "Umpire Brouse had played a few games of ball himself and, detecting the balk, waved Isaacs to the home plate. Immediately there was a gathering of the Jacksonville boys about the umpire. The pitcher still stood in his box. Ramsdell stood at the plate until he got tired and finally trotted down to first. When Brouse finally convinced the 'Gold Bricks' that his decisions went, they found that Ramsdell was roosting on first, without anyone but himself and a few interested spectators knowing how he got there."
    Practically the rest of the first page was devoted to an article by N. S. Bennett, who has saved the old papers. It described "July Time" at Fort Klamath, telling how the Indians hilariously celebrated the Fourth of July for a week or more.
    The paper was composed of eight pages, and you had to cut the margins to get to the inside. Doing that, you learned about an engagement at Port Arthur in which the Japanese fleet sank a Russian battleship and damaged two other men-of-war.
    A Roosevelt was President then as now and Teddy, wielder of the Big Stick, had just announced a shakeup in his cabinet, the post of secretary of commerce and labor going to Victor H. Metcalf of California. Mr. Metcalf was so elated that he stated that "the importance of this department is clearly shown by the large appropriation made for the first year of its existence, namely, $2,500,000," a sum that would serve only as pin money today for either of the two departments into which the old department was subsequently divided.
    Hubbard Brothers were then advertising Moline wagons and John Deere buggies, while drugs, patent medicines, books, stationery, paints, oils, cigars, tobacco, toilet articles, etc. were offered by the Mortar Drug Store, which was owned by G. H. Haskins, whose son Leon now operates the West Side Pharmacy. Who said that it was only in recent years that pharmacies had developed into department stores carrying everything under the sun?
    A. S. Bliton was publisher of the paper and was also a United States commissioner, giving service in filing homestead and timber claims. The Medford Bank was doing a general banking business with a capital and surplus of $55,000, the assistant cashier being Mose Alford, now city recorder.
    The Southern Pacific schedule shows that it required more than 15 hours then to travel by train from Medford to Portland as against about eight hours by train now or about two hours by plane.
    Children even in those distant days were crying for castoria while Charles Strang, still in the drug business, was advertising a sure cure for dyspepsia.
    A serial love story formed a large part of the paper, which claimed a circulation of 2,300.
    Out in Gold Hill the populace was preparing for a spectacular 4th of July celebration, with a "grand calathumpian parade" as a special feature.
    W. H. Meeker & Co., which has continued as the M.M. Department store, was advertising a clearance sale during which shoppers could find numerous bargains, including "50-cent wash silk, reduced to 3 yards for $1."
    Phonograph records were in demand, and The Toggery was offering "cool shirts for hot weather." Automobile ads were conspicuously absent, the motor car not having as yet supplanted the horse and buggy.
    A promotional section of eight pages graced the Medford Mail of March 9, 1906. The educational advantages to be found here were cited, the article being illustrated by a photograph of the school board, of which Charles Strang was president.
    The future of the Rogue Valley was described in prophetic terms, the writer foreseeing the day when every portion of the valley would "be connected with a system of turnpiked highways, all hard and smooth, summer and winter, the streams bridged with structures which will bear the weight of traction engines or autos which will be a necessity in handling the fruit produced in the foothills."
    The Medford Commercial Club, of which J. A. Perry was president, was then calling attention to the advantages of the valley, just as the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is doing today.
    A photograph illustrating an article on mail service showed W. J. Warner, who later became postmaster and was succeeded by Frank DeSouza, putting bags of mail into a surrey, old Dobbin patiently waiting to get started on the 20-mile route.
    Mergers, which became an everyday occurrence in the 1920s, were not unknown then, an advertisement in the Mail of March 9, 1906, announcing that the Medford Bank was to be merged into the Medford National Bank.
    Sportsmen were not forgotten, several articles telling of the excellent hunting, fishing and other outdoor pastimes that could be enjoyed in the valley.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 4, 1935, page B1