Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Linn 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 March 2017.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records · State Archives, Linn County Historical Museum and local offices1850–1969
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives1860–1970
- Birth Records · State Archives1903–1949
- Death Records · State Archives1903–1949
Deeds and land
- Corner Survey Records · local offices and online1850–1991
- Federal Land Grant Records · Linn County Historical Museum, local offices and online1850–1998
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1850–1998
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–1998
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices and online1851–1988
- Deeds and Indexes · State Archives and local offices1853–2002
- Land Subdivision Records · State Archives, Linn County Historical Museum, local offices and online1856–2015
- Mortgage Records · State Archives, Albany Regional Museum and local offices1856–1986
- Land Title Registers · State Archives, Linn County Historical Museum and local offices1891–1959
- Foreclosure Records · State Archives and local offices1894–1912
- Water Rights Records · local offices1905–1978
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices and online1961–2002
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · Albany Regional Museum and local offices1850–1985
- Probate Registers · State Archives, Albany Regional Museum and local offices1850–1987
- Probate Estate Records · State Archives1903–1940
Naturalization
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives and local offices1854–1956
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives1855–1952
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives1890–1956
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives and local offices1850–1986
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives and Linn County Historical Museum1913–1949
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Linn County Historical Museum, local offices and online1858–1998
Census
- Census Records · State Archives, Linn County Historical Museum, Albany Regional Museum, local offices and online1850–1910
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · local offices1892–1960
- Election Poll Books · State Archives and local offices1900–1914
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1854–1985
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives, Albany Regional Museum and local offices1854–1985
- Attachment Records · State Archives, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1857–1959
- Justice Court Dockets · State Archives1858–1972
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives1859–1946
- County Court Case Files · State Archives1860–1974
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives and local offices1861–1968
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1861–1985
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1889–1983
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1891–1967
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives1909–1960
Schools
- School District Records · State Archives, Linn County Historical Museum, Albany Regional Museum, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1854–1983
- Superintendent of Schools Records · State Archives, Linn County Historical Museum and local offices1880–1976
Other records
- Marks and Brands Records · State Archives1850–1943
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · State Archives and local offices1861–2007
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · State Archives and local offices1862–1976
- Married Women's Property Registers · State Archives1862–1912
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Linn County Historical Museum, Albany Regional Museum, local offices and online1878–2006
- Medical Profession Registration Records · State Archives1889–1974
- Road and Bridge Records · State Archives and local offices1891–2006
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · Linn County Historical Museum, local offices and online1910–2015
- Farm Name Registration Records · State Archives1911–1964
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1964
- County Fair Records · local offices1913–2016
- County Officials Reports · State Archives1934–1943
- Aerial Photographs · local offices and online1939–2000
- County Comprehensive Plans · Linn County Historical Museum, local offices and online1960–2014
- and 3 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
- Linn 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: Linn 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 Linn County: coroner's reports, 1909–1960; death records, 1915–1946; delayed births, 1860–1905; marriages, 1850–1873; women's separate property register entries, 1862–1912; military list entries, 1874; and more.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Linn 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, Linn" 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: Champoeg County (now Marion County)
Check the parent county for earlier records: Marion County
Later formed partly from Linn County: Wasco County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1847, 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.