Wasco County, Oregon Genealogy

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

Oregon Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe who lived on the south side of the Columbia River. The County is located in the north central area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has marriage and land records from 1854. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, probate and court records, from 1854.

Wasco County Government

County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Wasco County Court House as of August 2011.

Wasco County Court is structured differently. Check the County Records Inventory link for addresses for location of records (left column).

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at;

Oregon, Wasco County Records (FamilySearch Historical Records )

Boundary Changes
11 January 1854: Wasco county was created from Clackamas, Douglas, Jackson, Lane, Linn, and Marion Counties. Named for the Wasco (or Wascopam), a Chinook tribe on the south side. (Ore. Terr. Special Laws 1853, 5th reg. sess., pp. 26-27), 14 January 1857: Gained very small area near the head of Eagle Creek and Bradford's Island from Multnomah [change too small to map]. (Ore. Terr. Laws 1856-1857, 8th reg. sess., pp. 78-79) 14 February 1859: Lost to Washington Territory when the United States created the state of Oregon from Oregon Territory. (U.S. Stat., vol. 11, ch. 33[1859], secs. 1-2/pp. 383-384 Ore. Laws 1860, 1st reg. sess., pp. 28-30)  22 September 1862: Lost to creation of Baker. (Ore. Laws 1862, 2nd reg. sess., p. 112) 27 September 1862: Lost to creation of Umatilla. (Ore. Laws 1862, 2nd reg. sess., p. 91)  14 October 1864: Lost to creation of Grant. (Ore. Laws 1864, 3rd reg. sess., p. 43) 24 October 1874: Lost to creation of Lake. (Ore. Laws 1874, 8th reg. sess., pp. 38-41) 24 October 1882: Lost to creation of Crook. (Ore. Special Laws 1882, 12th reg. sess., p. 178)  16 February 1885: Lost to creation of Morrow. (Ore. Special Laws 1885, 13th reg. sess., pp. 239-243) 25 February 1885: Lost to creation of Gilliam. Creation left a small strip of Wasco County along the southeastern line of Gilliam which remained until gained by Gilliam County on 20 February 1891. (Ore. Special Laws 1885, 13th reg. sess., p. 404) 25 February 1889: Lost to creation of Sherman. (Ore. Laws 1889, gen., 15th reg. sess., p. 82)  19 February 1891: Lost more land to Sherman. (Ore. Laws 1891, gen., 16th reg. sess., pp. 68-69) 20 February 1891: Lost to Gilliam. The gain was a small strip that was inadvertently separated from Wasco County when Gilliam County was created on 25 February 1885. (Ore. Laws 1891, gen., 16th reg. sess., p. 76)  25 February 1895: Boundary with Multnomah adjusted within Section 22 of Township 2 North, Range 7 East [change too small to map]. (Ore. Laws 1895, 18th reg. sess., p. 88)  23 June 1908: Lost to creation of Hood River. (Ore. Laws 1909, gen., 25th reg. sess., ch. 5/pp. 39-43) 25 February 1925: Boundaries redefined [no change]. (Ore. Laws 1925, gen., 33rd reg. sess., ch. 108/p. 164)  13 September 1967: Redefined to substitute "boundary of the state" for middle of the main channel of the Columbia River. Approved by the Governor 19 June 1967, became effective 13 Sep 1967 [no change]. (Ore. Laws 1967, 54th reg. sess., ch. 421/pp. 930-931)

For animated maps illustrating Oregon County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Oregon County Boundary Maps" (1843-1975) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

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

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:

Neighboring Counties
Clackamas | Gilliam | Hood River | Jefferson | Marion | Sherman | Wheeler | Klickitat, Washington

Trivia Tidbits
Information about localities, too small or too brief to describe in separate pages. Exception to this are Post Offices. &gt; Trivia Tidbits

Cemeteries

 * Oregon Metro
 * Oregon Genealogy Cemeteries

Church History and Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Gazetteers

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

Land and Property
Wiki article describing online FamilySearch Historical collecton is found Oregon, Wasco County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Maps

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

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for European and African American settlers included:


 * Columbia River
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * Barlow Road 1846 from The Dalles to Oregon City

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index

World War I

 * 1919-1920 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1921-1938 at FamilySearch — index and images

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

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1833 – 1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Rivers and Waterways
Details about the rivers and waterways where farms and settlements are often found along them. &gt; Rivers and Waterways

Vital Records
Many early marriages are listed on the Western States Marriage Index.

See also How to order Oregon Vital Records, order electronically online or download an application for Oregon Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Divorce Certificate, Death Certificate Application to mail.

Birth Records

 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images (*); Also at: Ancestry
 * 1860-1952 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Delayed Birth Certificates

Marriage Records

 * 1826-1975 Oregon, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1842-1917 Oregon, U.S., State Births, 1842-1917 at Ancestry - index and images ($); Also at: 
 * 1849-1884; 1991-2006 at FamilySearch — index and images; collection is incomplete.
 * 1906-1968 Oregon, U.S., State Marriages, 1906-1968 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * Extractions of early marriages are listed on the Western States Marriage Index
 * Marriage Index 1885-1896 Actually is a book of affiants reporting the marriages. Historical Records Collection

Societies, Libraries and Museums
Wasco County Historical Society 300 W 13th St The Dalles, OR 97058 541-296-1867 Website

The Dalles-Wasco County Public Library 722 Court St The Dalles OR 97058 541-296-2815 Website Facebook Page

Family History Centers

 * The Dalles Oregon Family History Center
 * Hood River Oregon Family History Center
 * Milwaukie Oregon Family History Center
 * Mount Hood Oregon Family History Center
 * Oregon City Oregon Family History Center
 * Vancouver Washington North Family History Center
 * Vancouver Washington Family History Center
 * Wilsonville Oregon Family History Center


 * Clark County Genealogical Society Library - an affiliate library
 * The Genealogical Forum of Oregon - an affiliate library
 * Oregon Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Wasco County, OR History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Oregon Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Wasco County GenWeb Project, part of The ORGenWeb Project
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Oregon, Waco County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records