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is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 21,985 at the 2000 census.
Medford is a community in the southwest part of the Town of Brookhaven. It is served by the Patchogue-Medford School District, except for extreme southeastern Medford, which is served by the South Country Central School District, and extreme northeastern Medford, which is served by the Longwood Central School District. Some neighborhoods in Yaphank have Medford's zip code (11763.)
The Long Island Railroad established the Medford Station in 1843 in a flat wilderness in the Central Long Island Pine Barrens. The station connected to the Patchogue Stage Road between Patchogue, New York and Port Jefferson, New York and a post office was established.
In 1850 the LIRR auctioned the land around the station which was purchased by the O.L. Schwenke Land & Investment Co. which bought four square miles and then subdivided them into 25-by-100-foot lots which sold for $10 to $75. The land remained poor for farming and according to legend, in a marketing attempt a mock factory with a phony roof was built near the tracks and when a train neared tar paper was burned to give the impression that a booming industry existed in the community.
In 1907 the LIRR established the Medford Prosperity Farm to show that crops could be raised in the Pine Barrens. Theodore Roosevelt visited the station in August 1910. As the car drove across a trail between Medford and Wading River, New York, it got stuck in the mud and Roosevelt was said to take a "flying leap" to get out.