Oregon Land and Property

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United States

U.S. Land and Property

Oregon

Land and Property

Online Resources

• See United States Land and Property for more databases and resources.
• 1788-1960s U.S. Land Patent Search at Bureau of Land Management, index and some records
• 1820-1908 U.S., Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
• 1861-1932 United States, Cancelled, Relinquished, or Rejected Land Entry Case Files, 1861-1932 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection - images
• 1863-1908 U.S., Homestead Records, 1863-1908 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
• Oregon State Archives Women's Property Index at Oregon State Archives
• Oregon State Archives Land Claim Index at Oregon State Archives
• Survey Plats and Field Notes at Bureau of Land Management - index
• Land Owner Search at Historygeo.com ($), index to maps of original land owners
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Oregon Land Records

Provisional, Territorial, and Federal Land Office Records

Oregon land records during the period 1845 to 1849 were filed with the provisional recorder. The record contains a description of the land claimed and may name adjoining land holders.

• The Oregon State Archives has microfilm of these papers.
• Abstracts of the records are in Oregon Provisional Land Claims—Volumes I–VIII (Portland: Genealogical Forum of Oregon, 1987). FS Catalog book 979.5 R2gL, and an online index is provided by the Genealogical Forum of Oregon (PDF). At various libraries (WorldCat).

Donation Land Claims

Individuals who settled in the Oregon Territory before December 1, 1855 were eligible to receive donation land claims. The earlier, provisional claims were voided. The size of the piece of land was dependent upon the date of the arrival and the marital status of the claimant. The applications for these free lands may provide birth, marriage, citizenship, migration, or other valuable information.

Index and records:

• Genealogical Forum of Oregon - indexes.
• Oregon and Washington Donation Land Files, 1851-1903. FS Library film 1028543 (first of 108) - images.
• Oregon State Archives. Includes NARA microfilm numbers.

Abstracts of the donation land claims are published in: Genealogical Material in Oregon Donation Land Claims, 5 vols. Portland: Genealogical Forum of Portland, 1957-1975. FS Catalog book 979.5 R2g; indexed in FS Library film 874373, item 2. Online at: Ancestry ($).

Distribution of the remaining unoccupied land was administered by the General Land Office through land offices in Oregon. Most of the local records are now kept in the National Archives—Pacific Alaska Region (Seattle). Patents and copies of the tract books and township plats are at:

• Oregon/Washington State Office
  Bureau of Land Management
  1220 SW 3rd Avenue
  Portland, OR 97204
  Phone: 503-808-6001

The original tract books, plats, and land entry case files are at the National Archives. Many of the records are now online at Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Detailed instructions to use the site and perform searches are at GLO Records - Patent and Control Document Index (CDI) Document Search Instructions.

County Records

After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions are recorded by the county auditor in the form of deeds and mortgages. These may be obtained from the appropriate recorder or clerk in each courthouse. The FamilySearch Library is acquiring land records from the counties and digitizing them and they are found on FamilySearch Historical Records. Search the Wiki under the county for more information.

Many of the country records can be found on the internet by using a search engine and terms such as county name (e.g. Douglas), Land, Records. Information on Oregon Land records can also be found at the Oregon State Archives.

Online Records

• 1857-1963 Oregon, Yamhill County Records, 1857-1963 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1862-1950 Oregon, Baker County Records, 1862-1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index