Land Records in the Oregon State Archives Following is a list of land records in the Oregon State Archives. The list is arranged by county, provisional and territorial, state, and federal records. Other sources are at the end of this reference aid. Types of records included are assessment and tax rolls in the county records, maps and program records regarding land use, land management and environmental issues in the state records, land claims, land use surveys, and land laws and legislation in the Provisional and Territorial records, and Donation Land Claim files in the federal records. See the end of this reference aid for information about Donation Land Claims (microfilmed copy in reference room) and Homestead records (not at the Archives). See the Guide to Oregon Provisional and Territorial Government Records for complete information on these records. County Records BAKER Assessment Rolls, 1892-1897 Benton Assessment Rolls, 1850-1857 Inheritance Tax Rolls, 1918-1959 Tax Rolls, 1850-1864 CLACKAMAS Assessment Rolls, 1867-1900 Assessment Rolls Index, 1895-1949 Deed Index, Direct and Indirect, 1850-1911 Deed Record Book, 1906-1909 Deed Records, 1855-1917 Land and Lot Maps, 1940 Land Records, 1850 and 1850-1853 (Microfilm) Married Women's Separate Property Register, with Index, 1858-1909 Quit Claim Deed Book with Register, 1850-1853 Women's Separate Property Rights, 1909 CLATSOP Delinquent Tax Lists, 1863-1903 Military Reservation Land Requisitions, 1905 Tax Assessment Rolls, 1847-1872 Tax Assessment Summaries, 1884-1901 COLUMBIA Assessor's Grade Book, 1912-1923 Assessment Rolls, 1878-1920 Assessment and Tax Rolls, 1863-1890 Deeds, 1850-1870 (Microfilm) Land Claims, 1854-180-60 (Microfilm) Tax Lists, 1854-1859 CROOK Assessment Rolls, 1882-1883 (Microfilm) and 1884-1910 Tax Rolls, 1881-1883 CURRY Married Women's Separate Property Register, 1885-1907 DESCHUTES Assessment Rolls, 1920-1930 GRANT Assessment Rolls, 1869, 1875-1898 (Inv. 112) Delinquent Tax Rolls, 1884-1887 (Inv. 118) HARNEY Assessment Rolls, 1858-1875 Assessor's Plats, 1890-1896 Tax List, 1889-1890 Tax Roll, 1893 JACKSON Assessment Rolls, 1853-1857, 1859, 1865 (Microfilm) and 1858, 1875, 1885 Assessor's Records, 1928-1947 Inheritance Tax Receipts Reports, 1906-1975 Soldier's Tax Exemption Oaths, 1920s-1940s LAKE Assessment Rolls, 1874-1939 LANE Tax Rolls, 1878-1881 LINCOLN Assessments, Revenue and Expenditures, 1907-1922 Deeds, 1892-1914 Land Register, 1893-1900 Land Sales, Court Ordered, 1921-1925 LINN Assessment Rolls, 1886-1892 Assessment and Tax Rolls, 1860-1892 Assessor's Certificate of Indebtedness, 1873 Real Property, Present Owner Book, 1891 Real Property Sales Record, 1901 Separate Property Records, 1862-1912 MARION Assessment Rolls, 1857 (Microfilm) and 1854-1925 Assessment and Tax Records, 1852-1943 Land Records, 1846-1855 Married Woman's Property Register, 1859-1897 MULTNOMAH Assessment and Tax Rolls, 1866-1898 Assessment and Tax Rolls, Index, 1903 Deed Index, Indirect Delinquent Tax Sale Records, 1903-1910 Sheriff's Deeds, Record of, 1897-1931 POLK Assessment Rolls, 1892-1940 Delinquent Tax Sales Receipts, 1890-1920 Donation Land Claims, Maps Tax Redemption Certificates, 1918-1920 Tax Sale Certificates, 1900-1908 TILLAMOOK Assessment Rolls, 1890-1897 Sheriff's Tax Roll, 1882-1887 Tax Collection Register, 1902 UMATILLA Abatement of Taxes, 1901-1903 Assessment Records, 1875-1878 (T-1) Asessment Rolls, 1862-1925 (T-1, 54-15, 54-18/2, 85A-29) Assessment Rolls, Index, 1902-1920 (T-1) WALLOWA Sheriff's Journal of Tax Receipts, 1891-1892 WASCO Assessment Rolls, 1866-1935 Judgment Docket, Tax Liens, 1941 WASHINGTON Assessment Rolls, 1846, 1871-1903 Assessment and Tax Rolls, 1852-1869 Assessor's Field Books, n.d. Assessor's Land Abstracts, 1904-1926 Assessor's Military List, 1894-1900 County Assessor Records, 1881 Deeds, 1872 Deed Indexes, Direct and Indirect, 1850-1882 Land Claim Records, 1849-1851 Tax Roll Indexes, 1910-1945 WHEELER Assessment Rolls, 1898-1912 YAMHILL Assessment Records, c. 1903 Assessment Rolls, 1865-1939 Assessment and Tax Rolls, 1853-1877 Assessor's Records, n.d., Certificate of Assessment, 1944 Record of Taxes Deposited, 1856-1874 Tax Account Book, 1896-1906 Tax Exemption Oaths, n.d. Tax Sales Certificates, 1899-1900 * Provisional and Territorial Records See: Guide to Oregon Provisional and Teritorial Government Records Land Claim Records, 1845-1862 (Microfilm) Land Claim Records Index (Microfilm) * State Records Board of Control Maps (see NP1P list in Board of Control finding aid at the reference desk)City and County Maps Highway and Road Maps Plats Topographical Maps Wagon Road Maps Capitol Planning Commission Maps, 1949-1967 Court of Appeals Case Files, 1969-1975 Fish and Wildlife, Department of Administrative Correspondence, 1912-1922 Master Fish Warden Correspondence, 1919-1931 Forestry Department Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Lease Records, 1933-1947 District Annual Fire Plans, 1959-1961 Forest Rehabilitation Program Records, 1949-1971 Forest Type Township Maps and Overlays, 1961-1963 Klamath Indian Land Owner Index, c. 1959 Klamath Indian Land Owner Tax Payment Record Cards, 1959 Klamath Indian Land Sale Records, 1904-1959 Legal Case Records, 1945-1978 Protection Association and District Maps, 1937-1970 Remote Sensing Project Records, 1974-1978 Roadless Area Review Project Records, 1972-1985 State Forester's Committee Membership Records, 1934-1980 State Forester's Correspondence, 1933-1975 United States Forest Service Records, 1929-1983 World War II Forest Defense Records, 1941-1946 Highway Division (see also Department of Transportation) Maps, 1936-1980 City Maps and Plats County Road Maps General Highway Maps Index Maps Market Road Maps Plat Maps Parksites, 1955 Photographs Lands, Division of State Clerk's Correspondence, 1945-1969 Columbia River Ownership Maps, 1977-1979 Escheat Cases Report, 1937-1940 In Lieu Lands Clear Lists, 1859-1967 Land Exchange Records, 1914-1985 Natural Area Preserves Advisory Committee Minutes, 1974-1975 Natural Heritage Advisory Council Chairperson Correspondence, 1973-1983 Natural Heritage Advisory Council Program Records, 1973-1987 Natural Heritage Advisory Council Reports, 1975-1985 Overgrazed Land Donation Records, 1955-1963 Plat Book, Oregon (Microfilm) Riparian Rights Advisory Committee Minutes, 1969-1972 Rural Credit Loan Fund Mortgage Satisfaction Records, 1917-1942 South Slough National Estuarine Sanctuary Progress Reports, 1974-1981 South Slough Relocation Records, 1974-1981 State Land Board Minutes, 1878-1976 State Lands Deed and Easement Jackets, 1896-1969 State Owned Land Inventory, 1961-1965 Swamp Land Donation Records, 1876-1934 Land Use Board of Appeals Hearings Case Files, n.d. Marion-Polk Counties Boundary Commission Maps, 1969-1980 Street and Highway Maps Subdivision Maps Military Department, Oregon Adjutant General's Correspondence, 1847-1986 Military Camp Records, 1931-1983 Modoc Indian War Campaign Journal, 1873 Public Auction Sale Reports, 1856 Rogue River Indian War Maps, 1855-1856 Maps and Drawings Natural Resources, Committee on Executive Secretary's Correspondence, 1951-1967 Federal Natural Resource Agency Correspondence, 1957-1967 Natural Resource Project Correspondence, 1954-1964 Outdoor Recreation Council Records, 1961-1966 State Mapping Advisory Committee Correspondence, 1950-1963 Planning Board, Oregon State Land Use and Taxation Records Portland Metropolitan Study Commission Committee files, 1963-1971 Revenue Department Assessment Rolls, 1951-1955 Assessment Rolls, Summaries, 1947-1970 Assessor and Tax Collector Records, 1949-1979 Non-taxable Lands, 1973 Private Property Timber and Timberland Sales Data, 1950-1967 Valuation, Property, Relief, Orders, 1969-1978 Secretary of State Community Property Election Records and Index Deeds, 1899-1959, 1968-1989, 1990 Deeds and Abstracts of Title, 1960-1968 Deeds Indexes Deeds Register, 1899 Highway Deeds, 1976-1981 Wagon Road Maps (Microfilm) Soil and Water Conservation Commission Correspondence, Policy, and Historical, 1939-1973 District and Commission Correspondence, 1939-1973 Supreme Court Reports of School Land Commission, 1870-1878 Tax Court Assessment Rolls, 1934-1950 Centrally Assessed Property Records, 1957 Property Records, 1957 Transportation, Department of (see also Highway Division) Maps General Highway Maps Index Maps City Maps Plat Maps Maps, historical (Microfilm) Maps, historical Index (Reference Library, Reference Room) Traffic Engineering Division: General Highway Maps Treasury, Oregon State School Land Funds, 1906-1910 County Inheritance Tax Index, 1913-1934 Inheritance Tax Index, 1913 Inheritance Tax Ledger, 1907-1914 Inheritance Tax Quarterly Reports, 1903-1913 Inheritance Tax and Transfers, 1903-1917 Water Resources Department Columbia Southern Irigating Company Case Records, 1893-1916 Desert Land Board Reclamation Records, 1902-1978 Hydroelectric Commission Peoples' Utility District Records, 1931-1968 Hydroelectric Project Records, 1960-1987 Maps of Park and Recreation Areas and U. S. Government Land Office Survey Plates Photographs Publications Reclamation Commission Records, 1914 Upper Columbia River Basin Commission Records, 1952-1956 Water Resources Board Records, 1955-1975 Water Resources Committee Records, 1951-1975 Willamette River Basin Commission Records, 1930-1956 Willamette River Basin Commission Project Files on Dams, 1949-1972 Willamette Valley Environmental Protection and Development Planning Council Willamette Valley Choices for the Future, 1972 Willamette Valley Rail Study Commission Reports and Studies, 1975-1982 World War Veterans State Aid Commission Property Analysis Ledger, Bond, and Mortgage Reports * Donation Land Claims (DLC) Under terms of an act of 1850, certain white settlers and Indians of mixed blood in Oregon Territory (which then included Washington), and certain settlers arriving there between 1 December 1850 and 1 December 1853, were entitled to land. The number of acres granted (varying between 160 to 640) depended upon the marital status of the settler and the date of settlement. Settlers were required to live on the land and cultivate it for four years. The Oregon donation files for each appropriate land office (Oregon City, Roseburg, and The Dalles) are filed in two numerical series. One relates to complete entries, the other to incomplete or cancelled entries. Documents in a DLC file for a completed entry include the notification of settlement, which describes the land either by legal description (range, township, section, and fraction of section) or by natural features (metes and bounds), sometimes accompanied by a plat; an affidavit of settlement, which includes date and place of birth and, if applicable, of marriage; proofs of cultivation; an oath that the land had been used for cultivation only; for naturalized persons, proof of citizenship (not filmed on M815); and the donation certificate, which shows name of entryman, place of residence, description of land, date of patent, and volume and page number of the recorded patent in the National Archives. Oregon Donation Land Files, 1851-1903 (National Archives Film M815, Oregon State Archives Film 90) Oregon Donation Land Claim File Index (Reference Library publication) Oregon Donation Land Claim Abstracts (Film 7, Reference Library publication) Washington Donation Land Claims, 1851-1903 (NARA Film M815, Oregon State Archives Film 86) Homestead Records Under the Homestead Act of 1862 citizens and persons who had filed their intentions to become citizens were given 160 acres of land in the public domain if they fulfilled certain conditions. In general, an applicant had to build a home on the land, reside there for five years, and cultivate the land. The homestead entry papers filed by name of land office are dated 1863 through June 30, 1908. In general, there are two separately numbered series for each land office, one relating to complete and the other relating to incomplete homestead entries. A complete homestead entry file includes such documents as the homestead application; certificate of publication of intention to make a claim; homestead proof, consisting of testimonies of two witnesses and the testimony of the claimant; final certificate authorizing the claimant to obtain a patent; and when appropriate, a copy of naturalization proceedings or a copy of a Union veteran's discharge certificate. These records are available at: Suitland Reference Branch (NNRR) Textual Reference Division National Archives and Records Administration Washington, DC 20409 telephone (301) 763-7410 Bureau of Land Management 1300 N.E. 44th St. PO Box 2965 Portland, Oregon 97208 telephone (503) 280-7024 When writing to the Suitland Branch provide 1) the name of the land office, 2) the type of land transaction (cash sales, credit sale, homestead entry) and 3) the file number. The name of the entryman, state, and complete township/range description is also acceptable. If you know the property description for land in Oregon, a visit to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Portland may provide you with the necessary information to access the land entry files at the Suitland Branch. * Published Sources Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., 1985 The Source : A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Arlene Eakle & Johni Cerny, published by Ancestry Publishing Company, 1984 Guide to Cartographic Records in the National Archives, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, Washington: 1971. The Library of Congress: A Guide to Genealogical and Historical Research, by James C. Neagles, published by Ancestry Publishing Company, 1990 Dan Cantrall, Oregon State Archives (daniel.e.cantrall@state.or.us)