Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Douglas 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 2016.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records · State Archives, local offices and online1852–1983
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives and local offices1865–1984
- Birth Records · local offices and online1903–1933
- Death Records · local offices and online1903–1933
Deeds and land
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1850–1998
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–2000
- Deeds and Indexes · Douglas County Museum, local offices and online1851–2003
- Federal Land Grant Records · local offices1851–1957
- Land Subdivision Records · local offices and online1851–2011
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1851–1985
- Mortgage Records · local offices and online1852–1966
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1853–1992
- Water Rights Records · local offices and online1885–1980
- Foreclosure Records · local offices1892–1933
- Land Title Registers · local offices1902–1974
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1949–2003
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · local offices and online1850–2013
- Probate Registers · local offices and online1853–1973
- Probate Estate Records · local offices and online1859–1911
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · local offices and online1853–1975
- Naturalization Certificates · local offices and online1859–1975
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · local offices and online1859–1975
Military and pensions
- Military Records · local offices1887–1964
- Pension and Relief Records · local offices and online1893–1936
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · Douglas County Museum, Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1856–2014
Census
- Census Records · local offices1850–1910
Elections and voters
- Election Poll Books · Douglas County Museum, local offices and online1858–1914
- Election Voting Abstracts · local offices1890–1974
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · local offices1849–1983
- Attachment Records · State Archives and local offices1852–1928
- Circuit Court Journals · local offices1853–1984
- County Court Judicial Journals · local offices1856–1948
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives and local offices1856–1939
- Circuit Court Dockets · local offices1859–1983
- Insane Commitment Records · local offices and online1859–2014
- Justice Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1863–1938
- Justice Court Case Files · Douglas County Museum1884–1935
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives, local offices and online1890–1972
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1931–1972
Schools
- School District Records · State Archives, Douglas County Museum and local offices1854–1974
- Superintendent of Schools Records · State Archives and local offices1855–1991
Other records
- Road and Bridge Records · local offices and online1850–2006
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1851–2001
- Marks and Brands Records · local offices1852–1949
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · local offices and online1857–1965
- Married Women's Property Registers · local offices1859–1903
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · local offices and online1888–2011
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1889–1963
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1890–1985
- County Officials Reports · local offices1892–1949
- Animal Bounty Records · local offices1909–1944
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1911–1964
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1963
- County Budgets · local offices and online1918–2006
- Aerial Photographs · local offices and online1939–2004
- 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
- Douglas 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: Douglas 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 for probate, divorce, naturalization and other county records the State Archives has indexed.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Douglas 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, Douglas" 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: Lane County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Lane County
Later formed partly from Douglas County: Lake County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1852, 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.