Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Wheeler 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 2019.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Delayed Birth Records · local offices1865–1973
- Marriage Records · State Archives, local offices and online1896–1977
- Birth Records · State Archives1915–1930
- Death Records · State Archives1915–1930
Deeds and land
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1850–2002
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–1988
- Federal Land Grant Records · local offices and online1864–1974
- Deeds and Indexes · local offices1866–2008
- Mortgage Records · local offices1871–2008
- Water Rights Records · local offices1879–1987
- Land Title Registers · Fossil Museum and local offices1884–1950
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1885–1980
- Corner Survey Records · local offices1888–1975
- Foreclosure Records · local offices1897–1952
- Land Subdivision Records · local offices1914–2012
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1970
Wills and estates
- Probate Registers · local offices1887–1993
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1903–1911
- Probate Case Files · local offices1904–1948
Naturalization
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives1899–1946
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives and local offices1899–1946
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives1907–1946
Military and pensions
- Military Records · State Archives and local offices1899–1997
- Pension and Relief Records · local offices1901–1913
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, Fossil Museum and local offices1888–2006
Census
- Census Records · local offices1990–2000
Elections and voters
- Election Poll Books · State Archives and Fossil Museum1900–1927
- Election Voting Abstracts · Fossil Museum and local offices1927–1938
Court records
- Justice Court Dockets · local offices1891–1950
- Circuit Court Case Files · local offices1898–1988
- Circuit Court Dockets · local offices1898–1988
- Circuit Court Journals · local offices1898–1988
- Attachment Records · local offices1899–1983
- Coroner and Inquest Records · local offices1899–1942
- County Court Judicial Journals · local offices1899–1933
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1899–2015
- Judgment and Execution Records · local offices1899–1983
- Adoption Records · local offices1900–2015
- Justice Court Case Files · local offices1903–1948
- County Court Case Files · local offices1904–1948
- Prisoner Registers · Fossil Museum1935–1942
Schools
- School District Records · State Archives, Fossil Museum, Spray Pioneer Museum and local offices1890–1973
- Superintendent of Schools Records · Fossil Museum and local offices1899–1968
Other records
- Road and Bridge Records · local offices1882–2009
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · local offices1887–1997
- Animal Bounty Records · State Archives1899–1923
- County Officials Reports · Fossil Museum and local offices1899–1989
- Marks and Brands Records · State Archives and Fossil Museum1899–1937
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1899–1960
- County Fair Records · State Archives, Fossil Museum and local offices1915–2016
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Fossil Museum, local offices and online1931–2009
- Aerial Photographs · Fossil Museum and local offices1951–1962
- County Budgets · local offices1961–2015
- Planning Commission Minutes · local offices1966–1998
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices1968–2015
- Zoning Records · local offices1968–2019
- County Comprehensive Plans · local offices1970–2019
- and 2 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
- Wheeler 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: Wheeler 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 Wheeler County: marriages, 1896–1952.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Wheeler" 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: Crook County, Gilliam County, Grant County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Crook County, Gilliam County, Grant County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1899, 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.