Medford is located on historic Ojibwe forest land acquired by the United States in the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters.

In 1864, the federal government authorized a grant of some 837,000 acres (1,308 sq mi; 3,390 km2) of this land to subsidize railway construction through the area.

[5] Medford shipped over 1.5 million board feet of lumber by rail within a year of its establishment,[4] and the area was soon clear cut for farming.

The Taylor County Courthouse was ultimately constructed on land donated by the railroad company.

Fur farms in the area make Taylor County a top mink producer in North America.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, thousands of mink died of the virus after having contracted it from human workers.

Each of the four city districts is represented by an alderperson, with two elected to two-year terms in alternating years.

Equipment and facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, with dressing area and wading pool, playground equipment, four park shelters, two restroom facilities, one tennis court, four volleyball courts, one basketball court, two softball fields, a concession stand, nine recreation vehicle camping facilities, a skatepark, the "River Walk" which parallels the Black River for the majority of its way through the city, and picnic and barbecue areas along the walkway.

The 19-acre (7.7 ha) Medford millpond has been periodically dredged of sedimentation in an effort to improve fish habitat in the pond.

[16] Grahl Park consists of 7 acres (0.028 km2) and is designed as an integral part of a residential subdivision and has pedestrian access points to surrounding neighborhoods from the west, north, and east.

It has a Little League baseball field, basketball court, restroom facilities, park shelter, and playground equipment.

The Pine Line Trail is an unpaved, multi-use rail-trail extending just over 26 miles (42 km) to Prentice.

The airport handles approximately 7,000 operations per year, with roughly 93% general aviation and 7% air taxi.