Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Clatsop 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 September 2016.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records · State Archives and local offices1851–1985
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives1870–1947
- Birth Records · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society and local offices1886–1949
- Death Records · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society and local offices1903–1949
Deeds and land
- Land Subdivision Records · local offices and online1844–2011
- Mortgage Records · State Archives and local offices1845–1983
- Federal Land Grant Records · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society, local offices and online1848–1983
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society, local offices and online1848–2014
- Deeds and Indexes · State Archives and local offices1849–1988
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · State Archives and local offices1850–2010
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1885–1957
- Foreclosure Records · State Archives, local offices and online1889–1921
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1900–2012
- Water Rights Records · local offices1901–1967
- Land Title Registers · State Archives and local offices1910–1972
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1945–2000
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · State Archives and local offices1847–2013
- Probate Registers · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society and local offices1850–1986
- Probate Estate Records · State Archives and local offices1903–1946
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives, local offices and online1850–1971
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives, local offices and online1850–1971
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives and local offices1907–1970
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives and local offices1863–1984
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society and local offices1864–1949
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society, local offices and online1847–2007
Census
- Census Records · State Archives, local offices and online1849–1995
Elections and voters
- Election Poll Books · State Archives, local offices and online1845–1914
- Election Voting Abstracts · State Archives and local offices1845–1964
Court records
- Justice Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1846–1918
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives and local offices1847–1987
- Attachment Records · State Archives1848–1950
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1848–1987
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives, local offices and online1849–1987
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives and local offices1850–1984
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives1852–1960
- County Court Case Files · State Archives1873–1893
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1879–2013
- Justice Court Dockets · local offices1879–1942
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives and local offices1885–1941
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1888–1967
Schools
- Superintendent of Schools Records · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society and local offices1854–1995
- School District Records · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society and local offices1887–1970
Other records
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society and local offices1845–2014
- County Commissioners Orders and Ordinances · State Archives, local offices and online1845–2014
- Road and Bridge Records · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society, local offices and online1850–1987
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · State Archives and local offices1852–1944
- Clerk and Recorder Official Filings · local offices1852–2015
- County Officials Reports · State Archives and local offices1865–1983
- Married Women's Property Registers · State Archives1868–1922
- Animal Bounty Records · State Archives and local offices1886–1903
- Medical Profession Registration Records · State Archives and local offices1889–1976
- Marks and Brands Records · State Archives and local offices1897–1951
- County Fair Records · State Archives and local offices1905–2015
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · State Archives, Clatsop County Historical Society, Astoria Public Library, local offices and online1908–2010
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1911–1958
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1964
- 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
- Clatsop 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: Clatsop 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 Clatsop County: births, 1907–1915; coroner's reports, 1852–1960; marriages, 1852–1961; married women's separate property records, 1868–1922; naturalization certificate entries, 1907–1926; declaration of intention entries, 1850–1970; and more.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Clatsop 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, Clatsop" 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: Tuality District (now Washington County)
Check the parent county for earlier records: Washington County
Later formed partly from Clatsop County: Tillamook County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1844, 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.