Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Crook 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 2015.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Delayed Birth Records · A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1856–1964
- Marriage Records · State Archives, A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1870–1975
- Birth Records · A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1886–1939
- Death Records · A.R. Bowman Museum, local offices and online1903–1960
Deeds and land
- Mining Claim Records · A.R. Bowman Museum, local offices and online1850–1982
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–2007
- Deeds and Indexes · local offices1864–1978
- Federal Land Grant Records · local offices and online1864–1957
- Land Subdivision Records · A.R. Bowman Museum, local offices and online1869–2008
- Mortgage Records · State Archives and local offices1873–1983
- Water Rights Records · local offices1879–1979
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1881–2004
- Foreclosure Records · A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1896–1940
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1908–2007
- Land Title Registers · A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1915–1954
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices and online1958–2014
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · local offices1882–2012
- Probate Registers · local offices1882–1986
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1883–1951
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · local offices1879–1972
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · local offices1883–1974
- Naturalization Certificates · local offices1903–1929
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives and local offices1883–1982
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives and local offices1883–1937
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, A.R. Bowman Museum, local offices and online1870–2006
Census
- Census Records · A.R. Bowman Museum1900–1930
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · local offices1884–1972
- Election Poll Books · local offices1900–1933
Court records
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives, A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1870–1950
- Justice Court Dockets · A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1881–1941
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1882–1985
- Circuit Court Dockets · local offices1882–1985
- County Court Case Files · local offices1882–1921
- Circuit Court Journals · local offices1883–1972
- County Court Judicial Journals · local offices1883–1948
- Insane Commitment Records · local offices1883–1983
- Judgment and Execution Records · local offices1883–1959
- Justice Court Case Files · local offices1883–1940
- Attachment Records · local offices1885–1952
- Prisoner Registers · Oregon State Sheriffs' Association Museum and local offices1892–1956
Schools
- School District Records · A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1869–1970
- Superintendent of Schools Records · A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1887–1970
Other records
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · A.R. Bowman Museum, local offices and online1869–2014
- Road and Bridge Records · State Archives, A.R. Bowman Museum, local offices and online1869–2014
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · State Archives and local offices1882–1971
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · State Archives and local offices1882–2013
- Marks and Brands Registration Records · State Archives, A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1882–1949
- County Officials Reports · State Archives, A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1885–1996
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1889–1972
- Animal Bounty Records · State Archives, A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1899–1948
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1908–2003
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1911–1953
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1964
- County Fair Records · A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1913–2015
- County Budgets · local offices and online1949–2015
- Aerial Photographs · A.R. Bowman Museum and local offices1951–2005
- 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
- Crook 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: Crook 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 Crook County: assessment records, 1885; coroner's reports, 1883–1904.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Crook" 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 Crook County: Deschutes County, Jefferson County, Wheeler County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1882, 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.