Oregon City became the county seat for Clackamas County. The city was built on a portion of Dr. John McLoughlin's land claim. In 1844 Oregon City was incorporated by the Provisional Legislature, making it the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains. This area was the terminus for water transportation on the Willamette River and had been a meeting place for Indians, hunters, trappers, and Hudson's Bay Company voyagers for years.

The first major overland immigration to Oregon City occurred in 1842. Three years later Samuel Barlow established an immigrant route that ran from The Dalles, around the south side of Mt. Hood, and into Oregon City. The Barlow Road funneled thousands of immigrants into Oregon City and Clackamas County during the 1840s. Oregon City rapidly became the primary urban center in Clackamas County and dominated social and political life in Oregon during the provisional government period. The removal of the territorial capital from Oregon City to Salem in 1852 shifted most of the political activity to Salem. The creation of Multnomah County in 1854, at the request of Portland residents, removed Oregon's principal commercial city from Clackamas County as well as the county's access to the Columbia River.

Prior to construction of a courthouse, county records were housed in several locations in Oregon City, including the former provisional state house. Two of the locations burned but the county records were saved. In 1884 a frame and concrete structure was built at a cost of $145,000. In 1935 the county records were moved temporarily to rented quarters while a new courthouse was built. Using construction grants available through the Works Progress Administration the current courthouse was completed in 1937.

Clackamas County elected government is composed of five commissioners, a district attorney, assessor, clerk, sheriff, surveyor, and treasurer.

Historic Map Works : "Residential Genealogy"
This set of Web Pages has Photographs of Historical Buildings, etc.
Here is the description:
As many thousands of the buildings, churches, residences, shops and mills photographed can also be found on the maps within the Historic Map Works collection, it is fitting that we link the two databases to simplify the research process. With this in mind, we are pleased to offer our visitors to access to these important documents in a format complimentary, yet novel accompaniment to the extensive efforts of the Library of Congress and the National Parks Service.

Trails West & Mining History
Overland Trail Oregon Trail
Oregon Mining Maps
'Ghost Towns in Oregon' ~ The Volcanoes of Oregon


Biographies, Books & Pioneers

Film # 100368, Item 10, 11 & 12
This section of Film has three OR Items of Interest
The first is:

A Complete List
of Both
Active and Inactive Members
Of The
Orregon State BAR
[Corrected To September 1, 1937]
Prepared from the Records of and with the Co-operation of
Frederick H Sercombe, Secretary
Stevens-Ness law Publishing Co.
Portland, Oregon
The downloaded images are here

Items 11 & 12 are

Oregon "Who's Who": 1929-1944
The Chart below will be your guide to the files

The Volume for 1936-1937 is a book found in the FS Catalog: Use This Link

Portrait and Biographical Record
of
Western Oregon
Containing Original Sketches of many well known Citizens
of the Past and Present
Illustrated
Chapman Publishing Company
Chicago
1904
The Index is Here ~ Read Online or Download [Archive.org]

History Of The
Pacific Northwest:
Oregon And Washington

Embracing An Account Of The Original Discoveries On The Pacific Coast Of
North America, And A Description Of The Conquest, Settlement And
Subjugation Of The Vast Country Included In The Original Territory Of Oregon

Also Interesting Biographies Of The Earliest Settlers And
More Prominent Men and Women of the Pacific Northwest
Volume II, 1889

Compiled And Published By The
North Pacific History Company
Of Portland, Oregon
The Biographies have been split to Alpha Sections
The Files are large, but can be downloaded: Link for all Files & Index

There are Historical Paragraphs about several OR Counties:


"Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography "
by Wilson, James Grant, 1832-1914; Fiske, John, 1842-1901
Publication date 1900
Appleton Review ~ Archive.org [All Volumes]

"The Family of George Wise & Sarah Tong"
Wise-Tong Pioneers of Clackamas, OR
by:
Arthur D Coleman, 1965
The TOC is here.The book may be downloaded from the FS Catalog

Early Oregonians:1800-1860

"Oregon Native Son"
Publication with Bio's and Sketches
1899-1900 Index
The Books can be read online or downloaded [Archive.org]

"The Centennial History of Oregon 1811 - 1912"
The S J Clark Publishing Company
Chicago, 1912
Clackamas Folk on this Linked Chart~ Read Online or Download

"An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon"
H. K. Hines, Author; Chicago, 1893
There is an index here, but it does not break down by County.
Search the Book using "Clackamas" as the search parameter

There are more bios in the USGenWeb Archives.

Miscellaneous Books and Directories with Oregon Information

Medical and Surgical Directory
of The United States
R L Polk & Co, Publishers,
Here are the Pages for1886

Medical and Surgical Register
of The United States
R L Polk, Publishers,
Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago
Here are the Pages for 1890

There is also information on the following:
Officers Of the Medical Department of the United States Army And Hospital Stewards.
Medical Corps of the United States Navy
Medical Officers Of the U. S. Marine Hospital Service.
Including Acting Assistant Surgeons And Hospital Stewards.
Here are the pages for 1886 and 1890

Note:
Polk's Medical Register and Directory of North America
There are quite a few: Scroll
Years: 1900, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1912, 1890, 1893, 1896, 1898, 1917

The Russian Molokan 1962 Directory
Creator: Samarin, Paul I. [Wiki]
There are names for AZ, CA, OR, Lower CA & Mexico
Here are the split out alpha sections

"Stagecoaches of Clackamas County" ~ Documentary
Archive.org Link to the mp3

2 Publications of the Clackamas County Family History Society:
Legacy Vol 15,1 ~ Legacy Vol 16,1 [FS Books]
Interesting bits and pieces of Clackamas History

Family Genealogical Publications
There are thousands of these publications
Archive.org Link


"What's New"
Family Search: Historical Images
Clackamas County, Oregon
Please use this link for Films listed below

Cemetery Records, Marriage Records, Stories
DGS #008960096, 1848-1865
v. 1-2 Clatsop Co

Cemetery Plot Records, Cemetery Records, Census, Genealogies
Oregon City, Clackamas, Oregon, United States
DGS #008140308, 1860-1870

Cemetery Records, Genealogies
Oregon City, Clackamas, Oregon, United States
DGS #008218627, 1971

Death Records
Clackamas, Oregon, United States
DGS #105641599, 1900-1912, Vol I
DGS #105641600, 1913-1915, Vol II



There is a great collection of Films in the FS Catalog:
Data collected by the various BIA Agencies

'Oregon, Indian School Records'

School records, 1880-1950
Author: United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Klamath Agency ~ Klamath, Modoc & Paiute Tribes
Film #s: 1028443 ~ 1028444 ~ 1028445 [Item 1]
+++???+++

School Records, 1892-1945
Author: United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Grand Ronde-Siletz Agency
List of students 1927-1928 / Film #1025311
School enrollment applications and correspondence 1935-1938 / Film #1025311
School attendance record 1892-1899 / Film #1025311
School attendance record 1897-1938 / Film #1025312
Quarterly school attendance records 1908-1912 / Film #1025312
Student register 1895-1904 / Film #1025312
Record of returned students 1904 / Film #1025312
Permanent school census cards 1932-1945 / Film #1025312
Annual school census report 1930-1943 / Film #1025312
Quarterly school reports 1915-1916 / Film #1025312
List of school age children 1942-1945 / Film #1025312
Student attendance 1912-1913 / Film #1025312
Student lists 1939 / Film #1025312
+++???+++

School Records, 1925-1952
Author: United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Northern Idaho Agency
School records, 1925-1952 / Film #1030803 ~ Item 1
+++???+++

Student Records, 1916-1952
Author: United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Portland Area Office
Student records, 1916-1952 / Film #s 1028456 ~ 1028457 ~ 1024858 [Item 1]
+++???+++

Student Records, 1946-1952
Author: United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Fort Hall Agency
Student records, 1946-1952 / Film #1030802
[Includes a Birth & Death Register: 1901 > 1907


Family Search "Collections"
There is a wealth of Family and Historical information contained on the FamilySearch WebSite.
It can be overwhelming to figure out where to start.
So, I have created concentrated categories of databases which are accessible via linked pdf files.
All of the linked, Searchable Lists can be found here.
Cemeteries, Etc [Burial, Cemeteries, Coroner, Funeral Homes, Graves]
Church Records [Baptism's, Catholic Church, Christenings, Church [General]]
Legal Documents and Resources [Court, Estate, Probate Records]
Migration - Naturalization - Travel [Border Crossings, Migration, Naturalization, Passenger Lists, Passports]
Military [Bounty [Land], Military [Misc], Pensions, Soldiers, Veteran's, War[s]]
Odds and Ends [Applications, Homestead, Membership, Native Americans, Parish [Location & Church], Pioneers, Prison, Voting, Obituaries, Veteran & Soldier's Homes, Children's Home]
Vital Records [Birth, Marriage, Divorce, Death, Mortality Records]

Miscellaneous Family Search Databases
"Folks Born in Oregon, but who moved away"
The Databases linked below all have records for Oregon Folk...
Log into your FS Account for Access

California, Fresno and Napa Counties, Obituaries, 1974-1997
California, San Francisco County Records, 1824-1997
California, San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1835-1979 California, Oakland, Alameda County, Newspaper Record Collection, 1985-2011

Idaho, Southeast Counties Obituaries, 1864-2007