Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Klamath 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 August 2019.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives1865–1982
- Marriage Records · State Archives, Klamath County Library and local offices1882–1990
Deeds and land
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · Klamath County Museum, local offices and online1850–1987
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1858–2003
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices and online1858–2003
- Federal Land Grant Records · local offices and online1864–1957
- Land Subdivision Records · Klamath County Library, local offices and online1870–2013
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1870–1986
- Deeds and Indexes · local offices1871–2000
- Mortgage Records · local offices1874–2000
- Water Rights Records · local offices1883–2012
- Foreclosure Records · Klamath County Museum and local offices1893–1939
- Land Title Registers · Klamath County Museum and local offices1901–1959
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices and online1935–2009
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Klamath County Museum and local offices1882–2015
- Probate Registers · local offices1882–1988
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1883–1932
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives and online1872–1962
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives, local offices and online1872–1981
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives1889–1981
Military and pensions
- Military Records · Klamath County Museum and local offices1887–2009
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · Klamath County Museum, Klamath County Library, local offices and online1883–2015
Census
- Census Records · local offices1990–2000
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · local offices1884–1964
- Election Poll Books · Klamath County Museum and local offices1902–1914
Court records
- Justice Court Dockets · Klamath County Museum and local offices1875–1935
- Attachment Records · local offices1882–1932
- County Court Judicial Journals · local offices1882–1924
- Insane Commitment Records · local offices1882–2015
- Circuit Court Case Files · Klamath County Museum and local offices1883–1984
- Circuit Court Dockets · Klamath County Museum and local offices1883–1984
- Circuit Court Journals · Klamath County Museum and local offices1883–1982
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1893–1969
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives1906–1941
- Adoption Records · local offices1919–2015
Schools
- Superintendent of Schools Records · Klamath County Museum, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1888–1968
- School District Records · Klamath County Museum and local offices1900–1977
Other records
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Klamath County Museum, Klamath County Library, local offices and online1857–2018
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · Klamath County Library, local offices and online1870–2019
- Road and Bridge Records · local offices and online1870–2012
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · local offices and online1880–2010
- County Officials Reports · local offices1880–1939
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · local offices1882–1965
- Marks and Brands Records · Klamath County Museum and local offices1883–1959
- Medical Profession Registration Records · Klamath County Museum and local offices1887–1964
- Farm Name Registration Records · Klamath County Museum1911–1936
- Animal Bounty Records · Klamath County Museum and local offices1913–1923
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1964
- County Budgets · Klamath County Library and local offices1938–2011
- Aerial Photographs · Klamath County Museum and local offices1940–1979
- County Comprehensive Plans · Klamath County Library, local offices and online1957–2011
- 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
- Klamath 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: Klamath 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.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Klamath" 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: Lake County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Lake 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.