Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Deschutes 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 2014.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives and local offices1863–1983
- Death Records · State Archives1916–1930
- Marriage Records · Deschutes Historical Museum, Bend Public Library and local offices1916–2001
Deeds and land
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · Deschutes Historical Museum, local offices and online1850–1991
- Federal Land Grant Records · Deschutes Historical Museum, Bend Public Library, local offices and online1864–1985
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1867–1986
- Deeds and Indexes · local offices and online1871–1984
- Land Subdivision Records · Deschutes Historical Museum, Bend Public Library, local offices and online1871–2013
- Mortgage Records · local offices1871–1984
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1877–2003
- Land Title Registers · Deschutes Historical Museum and local offices1900–1985
- Water Rights Records · local offices1911–1991
- Corner Survey Records · local offices and online1958–2003
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1961–1995
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Deschutes Historical Museum, Bend Public Library and local offices1917–2013
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1917–1970
- Probate Registers · local offices1917–1986
Naturalization
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives1917–1969
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives1917–1969
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives1917–1970
Military and pensions
- Pension and Relief Records · local offices1916–1969
- Military Records · Deschutes Historical Museum and local offices1942–1984
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Bend Public Library, local offices and online1920–2007
Census
- Census Records · Deschutes Historical Museum and Bend Public Library1920–2000
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · local offices1917–1982
Court records
- Judgment and Execution Records · local offices1883–1932
- Circuit Court Case Files · Deschutes Historical Museum and local offices1911–1986
- Attachment Records · local offices1916–1940
- Circuit Court Dockets · local offices1916–1984
- County Court Case Files · local offices1916–1965
- County Court Judicial Journals · local offices1916–1973
- Insane Commitment Records · local offices1916–2011
- Circuit Court Journals · local offices1917–1983
- Justice Court Dockets · Deschutes Historical Museum and local offices1917–1941
- Justice Court Case Files · Deschutes Historical Museum1931–1941
Schools
- School District Records · Deschutes Historical Museum and local offices1895–1975
- Superintendent of Schools Records · local offices1913–1970
Other records
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Deschutes Historical Museum, Bend Public Library, local offices and online1871–2014
- Road and Bridge Records · Deschutes Historical Museum, local offices and online1877–2012
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · local offices and online1888–1984
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · Bend Public Library, local offices and online1892–2014
- Zoning Records · Deschutes Historical Museum, Bend Public Library, local offices and online1904–2013
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1917–1964
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1917–1960
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1917–1974
- County Comprehensive Plans · Deschutes Historical Museum, Bend Public Library, local offices and online1920–2013
- County Budgets · Bend Public Library, local offices and online1921–2014
- County Fair Records · Deschutes Historical Museum and local offices1922–2001
- Aerial Photographs · Deschutes Historical Museum and local offices1938–1996
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · local offices and online1940–2014
- County Officials Reports · local offices1971–1980
- and 1 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
- Deschutes 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: Deschutes 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 Deschutes County: Delayed Births, 1863–1910; Naturalizations, 1917–1969; Naturalizations, 1917–1969; Naturalizations, 1917–1969.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Deschutes" 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: Crook County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Crook County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1917, 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.