Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Benton 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 May 2019.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records · State Archives, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, local offices and online1850–1978
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1862–1972
- Birth Records · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1907–1950
- Death Records · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1907–1948
Deeds and land
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1850
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–2018
- Land Subdivision Records · Benton County Historical Museum, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, local offices and online1851–2019
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices and online1851–2004
- Federal Land Grant Records · Benton County Historical Museum, local offices and online1852–1997
- Deeds and Indexes · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum, local offices and online1854–1987
- Mortgage Records · local offices and online1854–1987
- Land Title Registers · State Archives and local offices1865–1971
- Foreclosure Records · Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1883–1934
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1885–1996
- Water Rights Records · local offices1914–1977
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1947–1999
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · State Archives and local offices1850–1993
- Probate Estate Records · State Archives1850–1930
- Probate Registers · State Archives and local offices1850–1983
- Dower Records · State Archives1865–1879
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives and online1851–1975
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives, local offices and online1864–1975
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives and online1903–1974
Military and pensions
- Pension and Relief Records · Benton County Historical Museum, local offices and online1879–1936
- Military Records · Benton County Historical Museum, local offices and online1884–1972
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum, local offices and online1851–2006
Census
- Census Records · State Archives, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and Oregon Historical Society1854–1910
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1851–1971
- Election Poll Books · Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1856–2006
Court records
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1849–1983
- Adoption Records · State Archives and local offices1850–2003
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1851–1984
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives and local offices1852–1936
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives and Benton County Historical Museum1858–1960
- County Court Case Files · local offices1859–1938
- County Court Judicial Journals · local offices1859–1943
- Attachment Records · State Archives and local offices1861–1931
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1861–1946
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1865–2006
- Justice Court Dockets · State Archives and Benton County Historical Museum1874–1948
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1886–1966
Schools
- School District Records · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1854–1978
- Superintendent of Schools Records · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1898–1966
Other records
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, local offices and online1851–2017
- Road and Bridge Records · Benton County Historical Museum, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, local offices and online1851–2011
- Marks and Brands Records · Benton County Historical Museum1852–1952
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · local offices1854–1978
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, Benton County Historical Museum, local offices and online1855–2011
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · State Archives, Benton County Historical Museum, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and local offices1878–2016
- Medical Profession Registration Records · Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1887–1971
- Animal Bounty Records · Benton County Historical Museum1899–1909
- Farm Name Registration Records · Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1911–1959
- County Fair Records · Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1912–2015
- County Budgets · Benton County Historical Museum, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, local offices and online1917–2011
- County Officials Reports · local offices1917–1978
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1930–1964
- Aerial Photographs · Benton County Historical Museum and local offices1948–2000
- and 4 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
- Benton 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: Benton 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 Benton County: divorce case files, 1853–1920; delayed birth records, 1862–1915; marriage records, 1885–1929; naturalization records, 1903–1929; probate case files, 1850–1898.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Benton Countyfree
The county's early history and the records of its first years, before statehood in 1859, that survive at the State Archives.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Benton" 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: Polk County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Polk County
Later formed partly from Benton County: Lincoln County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1847, 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.