Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Baker County's records, with where each is kept now (the State Archives, a county office, or a local museum or library) and the earliest and latest years. A span can include gaps. The county's inventory was taken in July 2016.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Delayed Birth Records · local offices1860–1979
- Marriage Records · local offices and online1862–1966
- Birth Records · State Archives1871–1940
- Death Records · State Archives1905–1944
Deeds and land
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1850–2015
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–2010
- Federal Land Grant Records · local offices and online1852–1957
- Deeds and Indexes · local offices and online1862–1971
- Land Title Registers · local offices1862–1960
- Mortgage Records · local offices and online1862–1971
- Water Rights Records · local offices1862–1978
- Land Subdivision Records · local offices and online1868–2016
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1879–1981
- Foreclosure Records · local offices and online1886–1920
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1941–2009
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1945–2003
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · local offices1862–2016
- Probate Registers · local offices1862–1984
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1880–1930
Naturalization
- Naturalization Certificates · local offices and online1867–1965
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · local offices and online1867–1971
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · local offices and online1885–1952
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives, local offices and online1891–2000
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives and local offices1912–1936
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives and local offices1863–2010
Census
- Census Records1870–1990
Elections and voters
- Election Poll Books · State Archives1900–1914
- Election Voting Abstracts · local offices1908–1966
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · local offices1862–1988
- Circuit Court Journals · local offices1862–1988
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives and local offices1862–1964
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1862–2016
- Circuit Court Dockets · local offices1863–1991
- Attachment Records · local offices1864–1925
- Judgment and Execution Records · local offices1865–1928
- Justice Court Dockets · Baker Heritage Museum and local offices1868–1941
- Prisoner Registers · Baker Heritage Museum and local offices1890–1929
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives1893–1960
- Justice Court Case Files · local offices1893–1921
Schools
- Superintendent of Schools Records · local offices1888–1983
- School District Records · Baker Heritage Museum and local offices1897–1980
Other records
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · Baker Heritage Museum and local offices1862–1964
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · local offices1862–2011
- Road and Bridge Records · local offices1864–2003
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Baker Heritage Museum, local offices and online1868–2004
- Married Women's Property Registers · local offices1872–1900
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1877–2015
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1887–1964
- Marks and Brands Records · local offices1893–1948
- County Budgets · local offices and online1903–2013
- County Officials Reports · local offices1903–2013
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1911–1939
- Animal Bounty Records · local offices1913–1923
- County Fair Records · Baker Heritage Museum and local offices1919–2006
- Aerial Photographs · local offices1960–1977
- and 5 more series in the full listing
See the full inventory at the Oregon State Archives
Source: Oregon State Archives, Oregon Historical County Records Guide. Records can move after an inventory is taken, so ask before you visit. Oregon began statewide registration of births and deaths in 1903.
Where to find the records
- Baker County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county clerk and the circuit court, and any online record search the county offers.
- The county clerk
Deeds and other land records, and marriage licenses and records.
- The circuit court
Civil and criminal cases, divorces, adoptions and, in most counties, wills and estates. In a few counties the county court still handles probate, and elsewhere older probate records may carry the county court's name.
- The Oregon State Archives
In Salem: older county records moved from the courthouses (many probate, court and naturalization files), the Oregon Historical Records Index, and the records of the provisional and territorial governments.
- Oregon State Archives: Baker County records inventoryfree
Every record series the archives inventoried for this county, with each volume's years and where it's kept.
- Oregon Historical Records Indexfree
Search by name. Indexed for Baker County: births, 1905–1916; deaths, 1905–1944; widow's pensions, 1917–1936.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Baker" 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: Wasco County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Wasco County
Later formed partly from Baker County: Malheur County, Union County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1862, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Settlers who reached Oregon by December 1, 1855 could claim land under the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 and its amendments; the earliest arrivals could claim the most. The claim files, at the National Archives, often give a settler's birth date and birthplace and the date and place of a marriage, because a married couple could claim twice as much land. Earlier provisional government land claims (1845–1849) are at the Oregon State Archives.