Medford, OK

Medford is a city and the county seat of Grant County, Oklahoma, at the intersection of U.S. 81 and State Highway 11. The 2020 census counted 932 residents. The city lies in north-central Oklahoma about 15 miles south of the Kansas line and 20 miles west of Interstate 35. U.S. 81 follows the old Chisholm Trail route, giving Medford a direct north-south connection through the plains. Medford Public Schools serve local students.

The town grew along the railroad before the Cherokee Outlet opened to non-Indian settlement on September 16, 1893. Its name honors Medford, Massachusetts, the hometown of a railroad official. Grant County government gives the city a regional job, while the highways keep the county seat connected to farms and neighboring communities. The square and the highway keep county business close to the city’s center. Medford is a small Oklahoma city with a railroad beginning, a Chisholm Trail highway, and the county offices that bring the surrounding prairie into town.