Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Washington County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Newspapers
- Calais Advertiser (Calais, Me.)1841-Current
- Calais Times (Calais, Me.)1904-19??
- Calais Weekly Times (Calais, Me.)1896-1904
- Courier and Gazette (Cherryfield, Me.)1910-19??
- Eastern Democrat (Easport, Me.)1832-1841
- Eastern Star & Washington Advertiser (Machias East Falls, Me.)1824-1825
- Eastern Star (Machias (East Falls), Me.)1823-1824
- Eastport Messenger (Eastport, Me.)1888-1???
- Eastport Sentinel ([Eastport, Me.])1822-1953
- Eastport Sentinel, and Passamaquody [Sic] Advertiser (Eastport, Me.)1818-1822
- Frontier Journal (Calais, Me.)1838-18??
- Gazette and Advertiser (Calais, Me.)1836-18??
- Lubec Weekly Herald (Lubec, Me.)1886-188?
- Machias Republican (Machias, Me.)1856-1920
- Machias Valley News-Observer (Machias, Me.)1932-Current
- Narraguagus Valley Item (Cherryfield, Me.)1908-19??
- St. Croix Courier (Calais, Me.)1834-1834
- The Calais Times (Calais, Me.)1868-1896
- The Cherryfield Courier (Cherryfield, Me.)1882-1???
- The Cherryfield Herald (Cherryfield, Me.)1882-1???
- The Downeaster (Calais, Me.)1837-1837
- The Forest City Advance (Forest City, Me.)1888-????
- The Machias Union (Machias [Me.])1853-1920
- The Machias Valley News (Machias, Me.)1930-1932
- The Narraguagus Times (Cherryfield, Me.)1897-19??
- The Northern Light (Eastport, Me.)1828-1832
- The St. Croix Herald (Calais, Me.)1858-1864
- The Union-Republican (Machias, Me.)1920-????
- The Waldo County Commercial (Cherryfield, Me.)1905-19??
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected newspaper titles cataloged by the Library of Congress with explicit county geography. Priority is given to titles beginning by 1950; up to five later titles are included where no earlier dated title is listed for that county. Dates describe publication history, not the issues available at a library. Multiple format records with the same title, place and dates are grouped. The catalog may describe paper, microfilm or online resources. Open ends and the word Current reflect the catalog description; confirm present availability and exact holdings with the libraries listed on the linked record.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Find Washington County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the town clerk, the county registry of deeds and the probate court.
- The town clerk
Births, marriages and deaths, kept by each town.
- The county registry of deeds
Deeds and other land records (some counties have two registry districts).
- The probate court
Wills and estates, one court in each county.
- The Maine State Archives
In Augusta: state vital records, court records and land records.
- Maine State Archivesfree
The state archives in Augusta, with vital records, court and land records and military records.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Maine, Washington" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Lincoln County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Lincoln County
Later formed partly from Washington County: Aroostook County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1790, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
In Maine, look for births, marriages and deaths in the town where the event happened. Statewide registration began in 1892, and the town records often go back much further. Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820.