Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Wallowa 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 June 2016.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Delayed Birth Records · local offices1860–1969
- Marriage Records · local offices and online1879–1983
- Birth Records · State Archives and local offices1907–1944
- Death Records · State Archives and local offices1907–1944
Deeds and land
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1850
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–2011
- Federal Land Grant Records · State Archives, local offices and online1864–1957
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1864–1990
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1867–1986
- Deeds and Indexes · State Archives and local offices1875–1990
- Water Rights Records · local offices1878–1980
- Mortgage Records · State Archives and local offices1883–1990
- Foreclosure Records · local offices1892–1927
- Land Title Registers · local offices1906–1927
- Land Subdivision Records · local offices and online1909–2013
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1961
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · State Archives and local offices1886–2016
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1887–1977
- Probate Registers · local offices1887–1987
Naturalization
- Naturalization Certificates · local offices1887–1906
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives and local offices1887–1953
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · local offices1904–1951
Military and pensions
- Military Records · local offices1878–1990
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives and local offices1913–1938
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · local offices and online1916–2006
Census
- Census Records · Wallowa County Museum, local offices and online1880–2000
Elections and voters
- Election Poll Books · State Archives and Wallowa County Museum1886–1914
- Election Voting Abstracts · State Archives and local offices1913–1974
Court records
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1887–1983
- Circuit Court Dockets · local offices1887–1987
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives and local offices1887–1985
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives and local offices1887–1985
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1887–2016
- Judgment and Execution Records · local offices1887–1927
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1888–1991
- Attachment Records · local offices1889–1966
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives and local offices1896–1957
- Justice Court Dockets · State Archives, Wallowa County Museum and local offices1898–1962
- Justice Court Case Files · local offices1907–1939
- County Court Case Files · local offices1930–1968
Schools
- Superintendent of Schools Records · Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1888–2003
- School District Records · Wallowa County Museum, local offices and online1893–1969
Other records
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1877–2014
- Road and Bridge Records · State Archives and local offices1877–2014
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · local offices1887–1989
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · local offices and online1887–2014
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1889–1973
- Animal Bounty Records · local offices1899–1959
- County Officials Reports · State Archives and local offices1908–1974
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Wallowa County Museum, local offices and online1908–2008
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1912–1916
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1965
- Marks and Brands Records · Wallowa County Museum and local offices1917–1921
- County Budgets · State Archives, local offices and online1932–2012
- Aerial Photographs · local offices1938–1958
- County Fair Records · local offices1955–2016
- 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
- Wallowa 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: Wallowa 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 Wallowa County: deaths, 1915–1929.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Wallowa" 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: Union County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Union County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1887, 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.