Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Lane 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 2018.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1852–1965
- Delayed Birth Records · local offices1864–1966
- Birth Records · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1882–1928
- Death Records · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1882–1928
Deeds and land
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · Lane County Historical Museum, local offices and online1850–2010
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1851–2012
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1852–2011
- Federal Land Grant Records · Lane County Historical Museum, local offices and online1853–1998
- Deeds and Indexes · Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1854–1972
- Land Subdivision Records · Lane County Historical Museum, local offices and online1856–2014
- Mortgage Records · Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1856–1970
- Mining Claim Records · Lane County Historical Museum, local offices and online1863–1979
- Foreclosure Records · Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1891–1915
- Water Rights Records · local offices1902–1970
- Land Title Registers · local offices1903–1972
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1940–2012
Wills and estates
- Probate Registers · State Archives and local offices1852–1982
- Probate Case Files · State Archives and local offices1853–2013
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1893–1926
Naturalization
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives and Lane County Historical Museum1853–1980
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1853–1980
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1853–1981
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1857–1980
- Pension and Relief Records · Lane County Historical Museum1867–1937
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum, local offices and online1854–2015
Census
- Census Records · State Archives and Lane County Historical Museum1854–1905
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1856–1960
- Election Poll Books · Lane County Historical Museum1895–1914
Court records
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives and local offices1852–1980
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives and local offices1852–1937
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1853–1983
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1853–1978
- Justice Court Case Files · State Archives1855–1929
- Attachment Records · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1856–1928
- County Court Case Files · State Archives and Lane County Historical Museum1856–1942
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives1857–1957
- Justice Court Dockets · State Archives, Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1857–1948
- Coroner and Inquest Records · Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1859–1964
- Adoption Records · State Archives and local offices1864–2015
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1864–2015
- Prisoner Registers · Lane County Historical Museum1902–1942
Schools
- Superintendent of Schools Records · Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1866–1994
- School District Records · Lane County Historical Museum, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1875–1966
Other records
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · Lane County Historical Museum, local offices and online1851–2011
- Road and Bridge Records · Lane County Historical Museum, local offices and online1852–2014
- Marks and Brands Records · Lane County Historical Museum1853–1948
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Lane County Historical Museum, local offices and online1854–2017
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1860–1970
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1860–2018
- Married Women's Property Registers · Lane County Historical Museum1861–1889
- Medical Profession Registration Records · Lane County Historical Museum and local offices1889–1965
- Clerk and Recorder Official Filings · local offices1902–2003
- County Officials Reports · Lane County Historical Museum1905–1954
- Animal Bounty Records · Lane County Historical Museum1909–1928
- County Fair Records · Lane County Historical Museum, local offices and online1911–2016
- Farm Name Registration Records · Lane County Historical Museum1911–1964
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1964
- 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
- Lane 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: Lane 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 Lane County: divorce case files, 1855–1900; probate case files, 1852–1937.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Lane 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, Lane" 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 Lane County: Douglas County, Wasco County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1851, 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.