Columbia County, Oregon Genealogy

Guide to Columbia County, Oregon ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Oregon Online Genealogy Records

County Facts
County seat:	St. Helens
Organized:	January 16, 1854
Parent County(s):	Washington
Neighboring Counties
Clatsop • Multnomah • Tillamook • Washington • Cowlitz (WA) • Clark (WA) • Wahkiakum (WA) See County Maps
Courthouse

Location Map

County Information

Description

Columbia County was named for the Columbia River. The county is located in the northwestern area of the state. ^[1]

County Courthouse

Columbia County Courthouse
230 Strand Street
St. Helens, OR 97051
Phone: 503-397-7210
Columbia County Website

County Clerk has marriage records from 1890, divorce and court records from 1854 and probate records from 1880. ^[2]
County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Columbia County Court House as of May 2005.

Columbia County, Oregon Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records^[3]
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1907	1890	1907	1854	1850	1880	1845
*Statewide registration for births and deaths in 1903. General compliance year unknown.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Parent County(s): Created from Washington County, on January 16, 1854. ^[4]
County Seat: St. Helens^[5]
Oregon Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county
Oregon Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Oregon county boundary changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator

The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:^[6]

Cities
Clatskanie Columbia City	Prescott Rainier	St Helens Scappoose
Unincorporated communities
Alston Apiary Beaver Homes Beaver Springs Birkenfeld Canaan Chapman Clatskanie Heights Clear Creek Corey Hill	Delena Goble Inglis Keasey Kerry Lindbergh Marshland Mayger McNulty Mist	Pittsburg Quincy Reuben Qunicy South Scapoose Spitzenberg Trenholm West Saint Helens Woodson Yankton
Census-designated places
Deer Island	Waren

History Timeline

Resources

Colyer Columbia

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Columbia County, Oregon online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave BillionGraves USGenWeb Archives OR Tombstone Transcription Project Interment.net BillionGraves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find a Grave Oregon Metro Oregon Genealogy Cemeteries FamilySearch Places
See Oregon Cemeteries for more information.

Census Records

Territorial and State Census Records (Extant)

1845 (as part of Tuality County, aka Twality or Twalitain)
1849 (as part of Tuality County, aka Twality or Twalitain)
1853 (as part of Washington County)
1856 Columbia County, Oregon, 1856 census
1865

Federal Census Records (Extant)

1850
1860
1870
1880
1900
1910
1920
1930

Church Records

List of Churches and Church Parishes

FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Court Records

Directories

1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

1929-1990 Columbia County, Oregon, mortuary records index, 1929-1990(*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Columbia Funeral Home & Cremation Center in St Helens
Groulx Family Mortuary in Rainier

Genealogies

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Online Land Indexes and Records

Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Wiki articles describing land records online are found at Oregon, Columbia County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Local Histories

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

1861-1865 Oregon, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War I

1919-1920 Oregon, World War I, County Military Service Records, 1919-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
1921-1938 Oregon, World War I, Veteran State Aid Applications, 1921-1938 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

1868-1991 United States, Oregon, Naturalization Records, 1868-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers

Oregon Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

Historic Oregon Newspapers as a division of the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program has digitzied more than 644,000 pages of newspapers throughout Oregon. Dates range from 1846-1922 with selected issues continuing through 1973.

Of particular interest to Columbia County researchers:

The Columbia Register (Houlton)
The Columbian (St. Helens)
The Oregon Mist (St. Helens)

1800s-Current Oregon, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Obituaries

Other Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes and Records

1833-1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

School Records

Social Security Records

1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

Vital Records

Birth

1842-1917 Oregon, Oregon State Archives, Births, 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry.com
1855-1970 Oregon, U.S., County Births and Deaths, 1855-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
1860-1952 Oregon Births, 1860-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
1876-1940 Oregon, Center for Health Statistics, Birth Records, 1903-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

1826-1975 Oregon, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
1841-1964 Oregon, Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)
1849-1884;1991-2006 Oregon Marriage Index, 1849-1884; 1991-2006 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
1906-1968 Oregon, U.S., State Marriages, 1906-1968 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho
Marriage Index 1885-1896 Actually is a book of affiants reporting the marriages. Historical Records Collection

Death

1855-1970 Oregon, U.S., County Births and Deaths, 1855-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
1864-1967 Oregon, Oregon State Archives, Death Records, 1864-1967 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
1864-1968 Oregon, U.S., State Deaths, 1864-1968 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Divorce

1841-1964 Oregon, Marriages and Divorces at MyHeritage — index ($)

Research Facilities

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

St Helens Oregon FamilySearch Center
Vernonia Oregon FamilySearch Center
Hillsboro Public Library - an affiliate library
The Genealogical Forum of Oregon - an affiliate library

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Columbia County. For state-wide library facilities, see Oregon Archives and Libraries.

Scappose Public Library
52469 SE 2nd St
Scappoose, OR 97056
503-543-7123
Website
St Helens Public Library
375 S 18th St
St Helens, OR 97051
503-397-4544
Website
Facebook
Clatskanie Public Library
11 NE Lillicch St
Clatskanie, OR 97016
503-728-3732
Website

Museums

Columbia County Museum Association
230 Strand St
St Helens, OR
503-429-3713
Website
Facebook

Societies

Listed below are societies in Columbia County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Oregon Societies.

Websites

Columbia County GenWeb part of OR GenWeb
The USGenWeb Archives Project
The Columbia County Historian compiled by Christopher and Larry Rea
Oregon, Columbia County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection. Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

References

↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Columbia, Oregon" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_County,_Oregon accessed 27 Nov 2018
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Columbia County, Oregon page 572, At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Columbia County, Oregon . Page 572-574 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 563-564.
↑ WorldCat 50140092 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed.] (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), [FS Library book 973 D27e 2002].
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002).At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Columbia County, Oregon"," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_County,_Oregon, accessed 3 October 2018.

[1] Wikipedia contributors, "Columbia, Oregon" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_County,_Oregon accessed 27 Nov 2018

[2] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Columbia County, Oregon page 572, At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.

[3] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Columbia County, Oregon . Page 572-574 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 563-564.

[4] WorldCat 50140092 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed.] (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), [FS Library book 973 D27e 2002].

[5] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002).At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.

[6] Wikipedia contributors, "Columbia County, Oregon"," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_County,_Oregon, accessed 3 October 2018.

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