The western edge of the six by seven mile rectangle that would become the town of Medford was first surveyed in 1847 by a crew working for the U.S. government. That west edge of the town is on the Fourth Principal Meridian, the first north-south line surveyed up through the forests of Wisconsin, from which all the towns, sections and forties are measured. In late 1861 a different crew of surveyors marked all the section corners in the township, walking through the woods and swamps, measuring with chain and compass. When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description: