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.

Description
Columbia County was named for the Columbia River. The county is located in the northwestern area of the state.

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.
 * County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Columbia County Court House as of May 2005.

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:

Cemeteries

 * Oregon Department of Transportation 1978 Cemetery Survey
 * Cemeteries managed by the city of Clatskanie
 * Rainier Cemetery District

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

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records Wiki articles describing land records online are found at Oregon, Columbia County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Military Records
Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War I
 * 1919-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1921-1938 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers
[Https://sites.google.com/site/onlinenewspapersite/Home/usa/or 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)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1833-1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 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

Birth

 * 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 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1826-1975 Oregon, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images;  Also at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * 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, ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Rainier Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * St Helens Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Vernonia Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * The Genealogical Forum of Oregon - an affiliate library
 * Oregon Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

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

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


 * – 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.