Medford, Massachusetts

Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts just a few miles north of Boston on the Mystic River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 55,765. It is the home of Tufts University. The name is said to mean "ford in a meadow." Given the regional accent, residents of Medford and surrounding communities commonly pronounce the town's name as Medfid" or "Meffa".

History

Medford was founded in 1630, making it the fourth oldest English settlement in North America.

Related Topics:
1630 - North America

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Medford was established as a city in 1892 and was a center of industry, manufacturing brick and tile and building clipper ships. 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 pest had denuded the vegetation in the neighborhood. Eventually, it spread all over North America.

Related Topics:
1892 - Brick - Tile - Clipper - 1868 - Astronomer - Leopold Trouvelot - Silkworm - Gypsy moth - Moth

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In a pub on Salem Street in Medford, local resident James Pierpoint wrote "Jingle Bells" in the late 19th century 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." 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 spreads across the United States and Europe.

Related Topics:
James Pierpoint - Jingle Bells - 19th century - Sleigh - Malden - Lydia Maria Child - Grandparents' house - Fannie Farmer - Roller skate

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Medford also boasts having many of its residents become National Hockey League stars. Medford is home to some of New England's best bakeries and Italian food. Medford is also home to some famous scandals. A few crooked officers of the Medford Police force pulled off one of the biggest bank robberies and jewel heists in world history in 1980. Also, the only recorded proof of the Mafia's existence is from an FBI audiotape of a Medford Mafia ceremony in the late 1980's.

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Further historical accounts including valuable illustrations are available from three excellent sites listed below1. Get involved with the Medford Historical Society2 for even more.

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