Medford is located on the main line of the Southern Pacific railroad and from this city extends the Medford Logging Railway a distance of 40 miles through a vast country of varied resources and to virgin forests where stand billions of feet of merchantable timber. A railroad line connects Medford and Jacksonville and is owned by the former. Extension of this road a few miles will tap a vast storehouse of timber and will in the near future be used for transporting logs to local mills.
    Medford, the metropolis of Southern Oregon, is situated in the heart of the famous Rogue River Valley, a valley made famous by the wide variety of products grown and noted the world over for its delicious pears.
    Medford is on the Pacific Highway, the longest stretch of paved road in the world, extending from the Canadian border to Mexico. Medford is also the gateway to Crater Lake National Park, a fine road extending from here to famous Crater Lake.
    The population of Medford is 9,000, having increased 3240 since 1920.
    The elevation of Medford is 1368 feet.
    The assessed valuation of the city is $5,400,000.
    Medford has a modern fire department, the city sustaining a loss of only $25,867 in 1925.
    Medford has four substantial banks, with resources totaling $5,496,988.10.
    There are a total of 2600 telephones in use in the city.
    There are 2532 dwellings in Medford.
    Ninety-seven percent of the homes of Medford are served by electricity.
    The average minimum temperature for a 12-year period: January, 29.7; May, 41.5; August, 52.2; November, 31.9.
    The average maximum temperature for a 12-year period: January, 45.6; April, 64.2; July, 89.9; September, 81; December, 30.7.
    The average annual precipitation of Medford and Rogue River Valley total 16.13 inches.
    The first mayor of Medford was J. S. Howard. The present mayor is O. O. Alenderfer.
    Medford is the home of a box shook factory which provides a payroll of $15,000 per month during the summer season.
    Medford is the home of a large, modern iron foundry.
    Medford is the home of the Owen-Oregon Lumber Co., with an annual payroll of $800,000. Plans for another new unit are under way to cost approximately $500,000.
    Medford is the home of 21 fruit packing and exporting firms, and 43 fruit storage houses.
    Two modern cold storage plans are located in the city.
    Medford is the home of a spacious, fireproof armory, the home of Co. A, 168th Infantry, O.N.G.
    Medford is the home of the Jackson County Library, containing 17,000 volumes.
    There are 44 teachers in the grade schools of the city.
    Twenty-seven instructors are employed in the local high school, including the superintendent.
    Medford has four grade schools, a high school, parochial academy, business college and a kindergarten.
    There are 2029 school children, of whom 503 are registered in the high school.
    Medford is constructing a new water system at a cost of $975,000 to bring an abundance of pure mountain water into the city, and in sufficient quantity to supply five times the present demands.
    Pears grown in Rogue River Valley set the standard for world markets.
    A modern vegetable, fruit and meat canning plant is located in the city.
    A catsup factory is important among local industries. Tomatoes grown here are declared to make a catsup equal to any in the world's markets.
    The total estimated payroll for Medford for 1925 was $2,500,000.
    During the three months of the picking and packing season $150,000 per month is paid out in handling pears.
    There are 1800 acres within the city limits of Medford.
    The population of Jackson County, of which Medford is the trade center, increased from 20,405 in 1920 to 25,032 in 1925.
    There are 8,000 acres of bearing and non-bearing pear trees in the district adjacent to Medford.
    During the annual encampment and maneuvers of the Oregon National Guard held at Camp Jackson, near Medford, last July, Medford citizens donated 525 automobiles to convey the troops to Crater Lake, which with the cars 100 feet apart, made a caravan six miles long.
    Medford has an aggressive Chamber of Commerce which is doing constructive work.
    Over 3000 automobiles are registered as belonging to Medford citizens.
    Medford is the leading convention city of Southern Oregon.
    There are 20.8 miles of paved streets in Medford, and 40 miles of cement walks.
    Eleven thousand, nine hundred and twenty cars of out-of-state visitors and tourists were registered in Medford during the year just closed, or with Sundays and holidays excluded, more than 40 a day.
    Medford is the home of a wide-awake Realty Board, which is affiliated with the national board of realtors.
    Medford is the location of two of the best privately owned auto camps in the West.
    Two modern hospitals are located in the city, capable of giving accommodations to 86 patients.
    Medford has 15 church buildings.
    There are 16 fraternal organizations in the city.
    Building permits issued in Medford during 1925 totaled $750,000.
    Medford is the home of a modern granite works.
    Medford is one of the best lighted cities in the Northwest.
    The home offices of the California Oregon Power Company are located in Medford, and in which 150 people are employed.
    Five wholesale oil companies are operating in Medford.
    Among organizations in the city are the Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis and Craters clubs.
    A cigar factory, broom factory and orchard ladder factory are among the industries represented in Medford.
    There are five retail lumber yards in the city.
    Three large, modern, fireproof hotels provide accommodations to visitors and tourists.
    A stone-tile factory and two cement brick and block factories are among the important industries in the city.
    A sash and door plant and cabinet works employing 21 men is located here.
    Three newspapers are published in Medford.
    Medford is a city in which decidedly few foreigners live.
    The grounds of the Jackson County Fair Association are located near this city.
    An aviation field is maintained by Medford, and is used regularly throughout the year.
    Medford theatres rank among the best on the Pacific Coast. All the best road shows play here, in addition to the latest pictures and a regular vaudeville circuit.
    Two golf courses are maintained in the city, one by the Oaklawn Golf and Country Club and the other by the American Legion.
    Medford is the headquarters of the Crater Lake National Park superintendent and organization.
    Numerous wholesale houses are located here, and this city is headquarters for many firms operating in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
    Medford is only 35 miles north of the Oregon-California line.
    A modern flour mill is one of the many industries of the city.
    Medford is a pleasant place in which to live.
    Medford is headed for a population of 20,000.
    Medford is and will continue as the hub of commercialism in the great Southern Oregon country.
Jackson County News, January 1, 1926


    A new high school building is being constructed. There are 2,029 school children, of which 503 are registered in the high school. There are 44 teachers in the grade schools and 27 instructors in the high school.
    Building permits issued in 1925 totaled $1,325,000.
    Medford is the home of the Owen-Oregon Lumber Company with an annual payroll of $800,000. Plans are under way for a new mill, to cost approximately $500,000. A box factory, 2 planing mills and a cabinet factory are located here also.
    Medford is the home of 21 fruit packing and exporting firms, 43 fruit storage houses, 2 modern cold storage plants, a large modern ice plant; a fruit, vegetable and meat canning plant, and a catsup factory. Knight's Rogue River Catsup is known throughout the world.
    The Medford Iron Works is one of the largest and best equipped in the state.
    The home offices of the California-Oregon Power Company are located in Medford, in which 150 people are employed.
    Two modern hospitals are located in the city.
    Medford has 15 church buildings, and 16 fraternal organizations are in Medford.
    Medford has an aggressive Chamber of Commerce and a realty board which is affiliated with the National Board of Realtors.
    There are five retail lumber yards in Medford.
    Accommodations to visitors and tourists are provided by three large modern fireproof hotels, and two well-maintained auto camps, with a fourth hotel under construction.
    Three stone, tile and cement block plants are located in the city.
    Among the service organizations in the city are the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lion and Crater clubs.
    Medford has numerous small factories--cigar, broom, orchard ladder, and others.
    The Jackson County Fair Grounds are located adjacent to the city.
    Three newspapers are published in Medford.
    11,920 cars of out-of-state visitors and tourists were registered in Medford in 1925.
    Over 3,000 autos are registered as belonging to Medford residents.
    Medford has two modern theaters.
    Three golf courses are maintained near the city.
    An aviation field is maintained on the fairgrounds, Medford being designated as the only stopping point for the air mail between San Francisco and Portland.
    Two large creameries are operating here.
    Medford is the headquarters for the Crater Lake National Park and the Crater National Forest.
    Numerous wholesale houses are located here, supplying Southern Oregon and Northern California. Also many manufacturers carry stocks in Medford for distribution in this territory.
    A modern flour mill is one of the many industries of the city.
    During the packing season $150,000 is paid out monthly for the handling of pears alone.
    The total estimated payroll for Medford in 1925 was $2,500,000.
    Few people die in Medford. A modern granite works, however, provides a suitable monument for those who do. Medford also has a mausoleum.
    1,430 new acres planted to 100,000 pear trees in 1925.
Oregon Business, Oregon Chamber of Commerce, Portland, March 1926, page 3


    March edition of Oregon Business, dedicated as Jackson County number, has proven effective toward obtaining the purpose for which it was intended as is evidenced by many complimentary remarks that have come into the office of the Medford Chamber of Commerce by local citizens verbally and through many, many communications. The Medford Chamber of Commerce extends a vote of appreciation to the periodical's capable editor and to the manager of the State Chamber for the creditable showing they made of this issue from the material furnished them.
    The new Stage Terminal Hotel is being rapidly rushed to completion, the pouring of cement being started some ten days ago. Upon completion of this hotel, Medford will be furnished with approximately four hundred rooms in the four hotels here.
    Early spring in Southern Oregon promises an early entrance to Crater Lake National Park through the Medford gateway.
    Through the capable assistance and untiring efforts of Arthur Foster of the Land Settlement Department of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, Jackson County boasts the most effective and creditable local Land Settlement Committee we have ever had. The nine men chosen on this committee have pledged themselves to set up a record that will be hard for other county committees to obtain.
    The heaviest fruit blossoming that has ever hung on the thousands of horticultural acres in Jackson County is at this time in evidence. People interested in fruit culture are driving here for many miles to view the beautiful sight that these trees present. A recent visitor who was a representative of the American Fruit Co. stated to the writer this was the most prolific universal bloom he had ever had the pleasure of viewing.
    Practically twice the acreage planted last year will be planted this year to the famous Rogue River Valley tomatoes.
    The Medford Chamber of Commerce continues to assist the Oregon delegation in Congress with their Senate Bill No. 3255, which in fact is O.&C. Grant Land Bill. There will be probably from three to five additional Medford citizens accompany the delegation, of which W. H. Gore of Medford is chairman, to Washington to testify before the committee on this subject.
    Another of the nationally known chain stores, that of Piggly Wiggly, opened in Medford this month.
    One of the local canneries has contracted for all the barreling variety of local strawberries at 8½¢. Indications point to a bumper crop and the popular Rogue River Valley strawberries, which is perfected in color by the continued daily sunlight and perfectly flavored, being the combination of same with the cool summer nights, is growing more and more in demand.
    Medford is starting to make ready for the annual encampment of the Oregon National Guard, who will have their usual two weeks' training at Camp Jackson near Medford the last two weeks in June.
    Mayor O. O. Alenderfer and City Recorder M. L. Alford are both carrying their arms in a sling due to a serious infection of writers' cramp, occasioned by them having to affix their personal signature to 500 one-thousand-dollar city of Medford water bonds which are the first installment of the $975,000 issue that will be expended this year for Medford's new water supply from the springs at the base of Mt. McLoughlin to the city of Medford.