Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Clackamas 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.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1845–1966
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives and local offices1869–1982
- Death Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1900–1948
- Birth Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1902–1945
Deeds and land
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices and online1846–2008
- Deeds and Indexes · State Archives and local offices1850–2000
- Federal Land Grant Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory, local offices and online1850–2008
- Land Subdivision Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory, local offices and online1850–2019
- Mortgage Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1850–1972
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · Museum of the Oregon Territory, local offices and online1850–2019
- Land Title Registers · State Archives and local offices1851–2000
- Corner Survey Records · local offices and online1853–2018
- Foreclosure Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1855–1934
- Mining Claim Records · State Archives, local offices and online1866–1980
- Water Rights Records · State Archives and local offices1902–1976
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices and online1930–2000
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1844–2015
- Probate Registers · State Archives and local offices1844–1986
- Probate Estate Records · State Archives and local offices1859–1909
- Dower Records · State Archives1863–1895
Naturalization
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives1849–1929
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives1850–1931
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1887–1926
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives and local offices1866–2000
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives and Museum of the Oregon Territory1903–1941
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory, local offices and online1850–2015
Census
- Census Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory, Oregon Historical Society and online1842–1910
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · State Archives, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1859–1922
- Election Poll Books · Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1902–1914
Court records
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1845–1984
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1845–1978
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1846–1986
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1846–2015
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives1846–1932
- Adoption Records · State Archives and local offices1855–2013
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives1859–1949
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives1859–1932
- Justice Court Case Files · State Archives1859–1876
- Attachment Records · State Archives and local offices1863–1932
- County Court Case Files · State Archives1863–1926
- Justice Court Dockets · State Archives, University of Oregon Knight Library and local offices1881–1969
- Prisoners Registers · Museum of the Oregon Territory and local offices1891–1960
Schools
- Superintendent of Schools Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and Oregon Historical Society1856–1994
- School District Records · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory and Oregon Historical Society1857–1971
Other records
- Road and Bridge Records · State Archives, local offices and online1844–2014
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · State Archives and local offices1845–1974
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · State Archives, local offices and online1847–2010
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · State Archives, Museum of the Oregon Territory, local offices and online1850–2019
- Marks and Brands Records · State Archives and local offices1852–1948
- County Officials Reports · State Archives and Museum of the Oregon Territory1855–1927
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1859–2015
- Married Women's Property Registers · State Archives and local offices1859–1909
- Medical Profession Registration Records · State Archives and local offices1889–1974
- Farm Name Registration Records · State Archives1911–1963
- County Fair Records · State Archives and local offices1913–2017
- County Budgets · State Archives, local offices and online1914–2018
- Clerk and Recorder Official Filings · local offices1924–2008
- Assumed Business Names Registers · State Archives and local offices1928–1964
- 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
- Clackamas 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: Clackamas 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 Clackamas County: divorce case files, 1852–1922 and 1936–1960; coroner's records, 1860–1883; death records, 1915–1948; delayed birth records, 1869–1915; insane commitments, 1854–1889; marriage records, 1848–1896, 1910–1936; and more.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Clackamas 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, Clackamas" 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: One of the four original districts created by Oregon's Provisional Government in 1843
Later formed partly from Clackamas County: Multnomah County, Wasco County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1843, 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.