Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Jackson 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
- Marriage Records · Southern Oregon Historical Society, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, Jackson County Library, local offices and online1853–1970
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, t he Jackson County Library and online1860–1964
- Death Records · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and online1904–1958
- Birth Records · State Archives1906–1929
Deeds and land
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · State Archives, local offices and online1850–2013
- Land Subdivision Records · Jackson County Library, local offices and online1852–2005
- Deeds and Indexes · Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, Jackson County Library, local offices and online1853–1966
- Federal Land Grant Records · State Archives, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, local offices and online1853–1957
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1853–1999
- Corner Survey Records · local offices and online1854–2013
- Foreclosure Records · local offices1854–1931
- Mining Claim Records · Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1854–1965
- Mortgage Records · Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1855–1971
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1856–1996
- Water Rights Records · Southern Oregon Historical Society, Jackson County Library and local offices1857–1979
- Land Title Registers · local offices1867–1971
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, local offices and online1853–2001
- Probate Registers · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1853–1988
- Probate Estate Records · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1865–1972
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and online1833–1981
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1859–1982
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives1907–1929
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1863–1900
- Pension and Relief Records · Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1908–1937
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, Jackson County Library, Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1853–2007
Census
- Census Records · State Archives, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Jackson County Library, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1853–1930
Elections and voters
- Election Poll Books · State Archives, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Jackson County Library, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1860–1960
- Election Voting Abstracts · Southern Oregon Historical Society and local offices1860–1965
Court records
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives and local offices1853–1985
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, Southern Oregon Historical Society and local offices1853–1930
- Circuit Court Dockets · Southern Oregon Historical Society, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1854–1983
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives, Jackson County Library, local offices and online1856–1983
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1856–1946
- Justice Court Dockets · Southern Oregon Historical Society, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1857–1972
- Justice Court Case Files · Oregon Historical Society and local offices1858–1927
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1859–1932
- Attachment Records · Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1866–1923
- Prisoner Registers · State Archives, Southern Oregon Historical Society and local offices1886–1965
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library and local offices1904–2011
- County Court Case Files · local offices1923–1932
Schools
- Superintendent of Schools Records · State Archives, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Historical Society, Jackson County Library and local offices1851–1970
- School District Records · State Archives, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1854–1988
Other records
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · Southern Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1851–2010
- Road and Bridge Records · Southern Oregon Historical Society, Jackson County Library, Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1853–2009
- Marks and Brands Records · State Archives, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, Jackson County Library and local offices1854–1950
- County Officials Reports · local offices1856–1929
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · Jackson County Library, local offices and online1858–2006
- Married Women's Property Registers · State Archives1859–1902
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · State Archives and local offices1867–1965
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Southern Oregon Historical Society, Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, Jackson County Library, local offices and online1871–2013
- Animal Bounty Records · Southern Oregon Historical Society and local offices1885–1968
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1887–1973
- County Fair Records · Southern Oregon Historical Society and local offices1894–2008
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1911–1963
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1964
- Aerial Photographs · local offices1939–2000
- 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
- Jackson 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: Jackson 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 Jackson County: circuit court divorce case files, 1856–1914; naturalization records, 1859–1981; naturalization records, 1859–1981; probate case files, 1853–1925.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Jackson 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, Jackson" 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: Land not yet in any county
Later formed partly from Jackson County: Coos County, Curry County, Josephine County, Lake County, Wasco 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.