Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Lincoln 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 May 2016.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Delayed Birth Records1870–1955
- Marriage Records · State Archives and local offices1893–1989
- Birth Records · local offices1907–1945
- Death Records · local offices1907–1945
Deeds and land
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–2003
- Federal Land Grant Records · Lincoln County Historical Society, local offices and online1855–2003
- Deeds and Indexes · State Archives and local offices1865–1986
- Land subdivision Records · Lincoln County Historical Society, local offices and online1869–2013
- Mortgage Records · local offices1870–1986
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1888–2015
- Foreclosure Records · State Archives, Lincoln County Historical Society and local offices1893–1923
- Land Title Registers · State Archives, Lincoln County Historical Society and local offices1893–1978
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1895–1990
- Water Rights Records · State Archives and local offices1908–1979
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices and online1910–1961
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1911–2002
Wills and estates
- Probate Registers · local offices1867–1983
- Probate Case Files · Lincoln County Law Library Building and local offices1893–2015
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1903–1971
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · local offices1893–1955
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · local offices1901–1956
- Naturalization Certificates · local offices1903–1929
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives and local offices1893–1986
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives and local offices1913–1938
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · Lincoln County Historical Society, local offices and online1892–2015
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · local offices1894–1962
- Election Poll Books · Lincoln County Historical Society and local offices1900–1936
Court records
- Judgment and Execution Records · local offices1855–1936
- Justice Court Dockets · Lincoln County Historical Society and local offices1867–1943
- Circuit Court Journals · local offices1873–1980
- Attachment Records · local offices1893–1930
- Circuit Court Case Files · Lincoln County Law Library Building and local offices1893–1983
- Circuit Court Dockets · local offices1893–1977
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives and local offices1893–1959
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1893–2015
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1893–1968
- County Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1901–1941
- Justice Court Case Files · local offices1911–1922
- Coroner and Inquest Records · local offices1925–1949
Schools
- School District Records · Lincoln County Historical Society, local offices and online1890–1974
- Superintendent of Schools Records · Oregon Historical Society and local offices1893–1972
Other records
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · Lincoln County Historical Society and local offices1867–1986
- County Officials Reports · State Archives and local offices1867–1967
- Road and Bridge Records · State Archives, local offices and online1869–2008
- Marks and Brands Records · State Archives and local offices1893–1953
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1894–1974
- Animal Bounty Records · State Archives1899–1917
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · local offices and online1902–2009
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · State Archives, local offices and online1907–2015
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1911–1962
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1923–1964
- County Budget · local offices and online1924–2007
- Aerial Photographs · local offices and online1939–2002
- County Fair Records · local offices and online1939–2015
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1947–2013
- 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
- Lincoln 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: Lincoln 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 Lincoln County: marriages, 1924–1947.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Lincoln" 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: Benton County, Tillamook County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Benton County, Tillamook County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1893, 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.