Welcome To ORGenWeb

State Coordinator:	Bob Jenkins
Assistant State Coordinator:

              

   Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is bordered on its west by the Pacific Ocean, on its north by Washington, on its south by California, on its east by Idaho, and on its southeast by Nevada. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary, and the Snake River delineates much of the eastern boundary. It is one of only three states of the contiguous United States to have a coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

Oregon was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before traders, explorers, and settlers arrived. An autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country in 1843, the Oregon Territory was created in 1848, and Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859. Today, Oregon is the 9th largest and 27th most populous U.S. state. Its capital is Salem, the second most populous of its cities, with 160,614 residents (2013 estimate). With 609,456 residents (2013 estimate), Portland is the largest city in Oregon and ranks 29th in the U.S. Its metro population of 2,314,554 (2013 estimate) is 24th. The Willamette Valley in western Oregon is the state's most densely populated area, home to eight of the ten most populous cities.
(Read more at Wikipedia.com)

For genealogists, Oregon provides a rich documentary trail: territorial census schedules, pioneer donation land claims, early county formations, military and coastal service records, and courthouse archives shaped by Native nations, wagon‑train migration, logging communities, and maritime trade. The Oregon State Archives adds extensive indexed access to probate files, naturalization records, land and court documents, vital record indexes, and thousands of county‑level entries through the Oregon Historical Records Index. Whether your ancestors settled briefly in the territory or built generations of roots, Oregon’s records reveal the pathways that shaped the Pacific Northwest.

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