Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Polk 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 October 2013.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1848–1980
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1855–1983
- Birth Records · State Archives and local offices1903–1921
- Death Records · State Archives and local offices1903–1921
Deeds and land
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1850–1987
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1850–1996
- Deeds and Indexes · Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1851–1988
- Federal Land Grant Records · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1851–2007
- Land Subdivision Records · local offices and online1853–2007
- Mortgage Records · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1854–1988
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices and online1858–2001
- Foreclosure Records · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1890–1930
- Corner Survey Records · local offices and online1904–1971
- Land Title Registers · State Archives and local offices1908–1960
- Water Rights Records · Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1915–2004
- Tax Lot Cards · Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1950–1994
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1847–2011
- Probate Registers · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1848–1986
- Probate Estate Records · State Archives and local offices1851–1955
- Dower Records · Polk County Historical Society Museum1855–1869
Naturalization
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives and local offices1872–1955
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives and local offices1872–1955
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives and local offices1889–1952
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1854–1995
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1904–1954
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1866–2010
Census
- Census Records · online1870
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1892–1972
- Election Poll Books · Polk County Historical Society Museum1902–1910
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1846–1985
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1846–1968
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1847–1969
- Coroner and Inquest Records · local offices1852–1948
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1853–1940
- Justice Court Dockets · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum and Oregon Historical Society1853–1948
- Justice Court Case Files · State Archives, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1861–1940
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1863–1966
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1879–1985
- Attachment Records · Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1884–1931
Schools
- School District Records · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1854–1968
- Superintendent of Schools Records · State Archives and Polk County Historical Society Museum1889–1970
Other records
- Marks and Brands Records · State Archives and Polk County Historical Society Museum1849–1942
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1850–2011
- Road and Bridge Records · State Archives, local offices and online1850–2009
- Clerk and Recorder Official Filings · local offices and online1854–2005
- Married Women's Property Registers · State Archives1859–1897
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1889–1969
- Medical Profession Registration Records · Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1889–1969
- Animal Bounty Records · State Archives and local offices1899–1961
- Farm Name Registration Records · State Archives1911–1963
- Assumed Business Names Registers · Polk County Historical Society Museum and local offices1913–1968
- County Fair Records · Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1915–2010
- County Budgets · local offices and online1927–2011
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · State Archives, Polk County Historical Society Museum, local offices and online1929–2012
- Aerial Photographs · local offices1935–1993
- 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
- Polk 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: Polk 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 Polk County: divorce case files, 1854–1912; deaths, 1903–1906; delayed births, 1855–1910; married women's property register entries, 1859–1897; probate case files, 1847–1921.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Polk 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, Polk" 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 Polk County: Benton County, Tillamook County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1845, 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.