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Medford Vacations, Historical Tours and Medford Travel Packages

The name Medford is thought to have come from "the ford by the meadow" or "Meadford" thus commemorating the importance of the fordable part of the Mystic River located just west of present-day Medford Square.

The original area of Medford was owned by Mathew Cradock, the first Governor of the Massachusetts colonies. Although Cradock never saw it, he employed men to develop his land into a plantation. After his death, the plantation passed to his heirs and then was sold en masse in 1652 to Edward Collins. The area was designated a "peculiar" which signified that it was private property and not a properly incorporated town. Collins began selling pieces of land to others after 1656. In 1684, Medford was granted the right to raise its own money by the General Court. In 1892, Medford became incorporated as a city.

Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, just a few miles north of Boston. In the 2000 census, Medford's population was 55,765. It is the home of Tufts University.

Medford History

Medford 1600s
Medford was settled in 1630 as part of Charlestown, when Thomas Dudley referred to it as "Mistick" (a name which persisted for many decades), which his party renamed "Meadford".[1] In 1634, the land north of the Mystic River became the private plantation of former Governor Matthew Cradock; across the river was Ten Hills Farm, which belonged to John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony.[2] The name may have come from a description of the "meadow by the ford" in the Mystic River, or from two locations that Cradock may have been familiar with in England: the hamlet of Mayford or Metford in Staffordshire near Caverswall, or from the parish of Maidford or Medford (now Towcester, Northamptonshire).

In 1637, the first bridge (a toll bridge) across the Mystic River was built at the site of the present-day Cradock Bridge, near Medford Square. It would be the only bridge across the Mystic until 1787, and as such became a major route for traffic coming into Boston from the north (though ferries and fords were also used).

Until 1656, all of northern Medford was owned by Cradock his heirs, or Edward Collins. Medford was governed as a "peculiar" or private plantation. As the land began to be divided among several people from different families, the new owners began to meet and make decisions locally and increasingly independently from the Charlestown town meeting. In 1674, a Board of Selectmen was elected, in 1684, the colonial legislature granted the ability to raise money independently, and in 1689, a representative to the legislature was chosen. The town got its own religious meeting room in 1690, and a secular meeting house in 1696.

Medford 1700s and 1800s
The land south of the Mystic River was known as "Mistick Field". It was transferred from Charlestown to Medford in 1754.[5] This grant also included the "Charlestown Wood Lots" (the Medford part of the Middlesex Fells), and part of what was at the time Woburn (now Winchester).[6] Parts of Medford were transferred to Charlestown in 1811, Winchester in 1850 ("Upper Medford"), and Malden in 1879. Additional land was transferred to Medford from Malden (1817), Everett (1875), and Malden (1877) again.[7][8]

The population of Medford went from 230 in 1700 to 1,114 in 1800. After 1880, the population rapidly expanded, reaching 18,244 by 1900.[9] Farmland was divided into lots and sold to build residential and commercial buildings, starting in the 1840s and 1850s; government services expanded with the population (schools, police, post office) and technological advancement (gas lighting, electricity, telephones, railways).[8] Tufts University was chartered in 1852.

Medford was incorporated as a city in 1892 [10] and was a center of industry, including the manufacture of brick[11] and tile, rum,[12] Medford Crackers, and clipper ships.

Medford Transportation
During the 1600s, a handful of major public roads (High Street, Main Street, Salem Street, "the road to Stoneham", and South Street) served the population, but the road network started a long-term expansion in the 1700s.[14] The Medford Turnpike Company was incorporated in 1803, but turned what is now Mystic Avenue over to the city in 1866. The Andover Turnpike Company was incorporated in 1805, but turned what is now Forest Street and Fellsway West over to Medford in 1830.[8]

Other major commercial transportation projects included the Middlesex Canal by 1803,[15] the Boston and Lowell Railroad in West Medford in the 1830s, and the Boston and Maine Railroad to Medford Center in 1847.

A horse-powered street railway began running to Somerville and Charlestown in 1860. The street railway network expanded in the hands of various private companies, and went electric in the late 1890s, when trolleys to Everett and downtown Boston were available.[8] Streetcars were converted to buses in the 1900s. Interstate 93 was constructed between 1956 and 1963.[16]

[edit] Gypsy moth
In 1868, a French astronomer and naturalist, Leopold Trouvelot, was attempting to breed a better silkworm using Gypsy moths. Several of the moths escaped from his home, at 27 Myrtle Street, which no longer exists. Within ten years, the insect had denuded the vegetation in the neighborhood. It spread over North America.

[edit] Holiday songs
In a tavern and boarding house on High Street (Simpson's Tavern) in the late 19th century, local resident James Pierpont wrote "Jingle Bells" after watching a sleigh race from Medford to Malden. Another local resident, Lydia Maria Child (1802–1880), made a poem out of the trip across town to her grandparents' house, now the classic song "Over the River and Through the Woods".

Other Medford notables
 
1790 bird's-eye view from Bunker Hill of the "Malden Bridge" across the Mystic River, with Medford in the background.Medford was home to Fannie Farmer, author of one of the world's most famous cookbooks—as well as James Plimpton, the man credited with the 1863 invention of the first practical four-wheeled roller skate, which set off a roller craze that quickly spread across the United States and Europe.

Amelia Earhart lived in Medford, while working as a social worker in 1925.

"The Black Dahlia", the infamous Hollywood murder victim, was born and raised in Medford before going to the West Coast looking for fame.

The Peter Tufts house (350 Riverside Ave.) is thought to be the oldest all-brick building in New England. Another important site is the "Slave Wall" on Grove Street, built by "Pomp," a slave owned by the prominent Brooks family.

Medford has sent more than its share of athletes to the National Hockey League; Shawn Bates, though born in Melrose, MA grew up in Medford, as did Keith Tkachuk, Mike Morrison and Joe Sacco. Former Red Sox Pitcher Bill Monbouquette grew up in Medford.

Medford is home to some of New England's most well-known bakeries and Italian restaurants and delis.

Medford was home to Michael Bloomberg, American businessman, philanthropist, and the founder of Bloomberg L.P., who is currently serving as the Mayor of New York City. Mayor Bloomberg attended Medford High School and resided in Medford until after he graduated college. His mother remains a resident of Medford.

www.wikipedia.com

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