Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Washington 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, Washington County Museum and local offices1842–1961
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives and local offices1857–1988
- Death Records · State Archives and local offices1903–1946
- Birth Records · State Archives and local offices1907–1946
Deeds and land
- Deeds and Indexes · State Archives, Washington County Museum, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1847–1977
- Federal Land Grant Records · State Archives, Washington County Museum, local offices and online1849–1998
- Land Subdivision Records · State Archives, Washington County Museum, local offices and online1850–2010
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1850–1998
- Mortgage Records · State Archives and local offices1850–1977
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1850–1996
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–2000
- Corner Survey Records · local offices and online1870–2000
- Foreclosure Records · local offices1870–1926
- Land Title Registers · Washington County Museum and local offices1907–1972
- Water Rights Records · local offices1909–1981
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1959–2005
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · State Archives, Washington County Museum and local offices1842–2013
- Probate Estate Records · State Archives and Washington County Museum1844–1935
- Probate Registers · State Archives, Washington County Museum and local offices1847–1987
Naturalization
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives and local offices1844–1956
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives1846–1955
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives and local offices1903–1927
Military and pensions
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives and local offices1860–1936
- Military Records · State Archives and local offices1864–1977
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Washington County Museum, Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1846–2013
Census
- Census Records · State Archives, Washington County Museum, Oregon Historical Society and online1845–1930
Elections and voters
- Election Poll Books · State Archives, Washington County Museum, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1846–1914
- Election Voting Abstracts · State Archives, Washington County Museum and local offices1847–1962
Court records
- County Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1842–1946
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives, Washington County Museum and local offices1844–1983
- Justice Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1845–1917
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives and local offices1846–1984
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives, Washington County Museum and local offices1846–1950
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1847–1982
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives, Washington County Museum and local offices1851–1960
- Attachment Records · State Archives and local offices1852–1952
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives, Washington County Museum and local offices1852–1959
- Justice Court Dockets · State Archives, Washington County Museum, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1858–1946
- Prisoner Registers · Washington County Museum and local offices1884–1971
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1895–2008
Schools
- School District Records · Washington County Museum, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1852–1964
- Superintendent of Schools Records · Washington County Museum and local offices1895–1972
Other records
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · State Archives, Washington County Museum, Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1844–2013
- Road and Bridge Records · State Archives, Washington County Museum, local offices and online1848–2020
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Washington County Museum, local offices and online1850–2003
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · State Archives and local offices1854–1977
- County Officials Reports · State Archives and local offices1854–1967
- Married Women's Property Registers · State Archives1881–1882
- Marks and Brands Records · local offices1886–1963
- Medical Profession Registration Records · State Archives and local offices1889–1976
- County Fair Records · Washington County Museum, local offices and online1905–2009
- Animal Bounty Records · local offices1909–1957
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1911–1964
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1964
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1917–2013
- Planning Commission Minutes · local offices and online1950–2009
- and 6 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
- Washington 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: Washington 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 Washington County: divorces, 1850–1899, 1917–1939; coroner's reports, 1869–1919; delayed births, 1857–1910; insane commitment records, 1895–1927; women's property register entries, 1881–1882; naturalizations, 1844–1956; and more.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Washington 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, Washington" 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: One of the four original districts created by Oregon's Provisional Government in 1843, as Tuality District
Later formed partly from Washington County: Clatsop County, Columbia County, Multnomah County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1843, 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.