Oregon Historical County Records Guide
Clackamas County Records Inventory
Federal Land Grant Records
1850-1957
Series records ownership of county lands obtained from the federal government. Series includes records of land grants administered under a variety of federal programs such as donation land claims and homesteads. Donation land claims are the most common type of federal land grant in Oregon that is documented in this inventory project. Donation land claims resulted from an act of the 1850 Congress under which citizens of the United States, or those who filed a declaration of intention prior to December 1, 1850 and had resided upon or cultivated the land for four consecutive years, were granted a specified amount of acreage in the Oregon Territory. Donation land claims were unique in that acreage granted to married couples was divided evenly. Half of the acreage was placed in the husband's name while the other half was placed in the wife's name. Records include plats, indexes, and survey notes. Information includes township, range, and section numbers, names of donation land claim holders and claim numbers, claim dates, acreage, and descriptions of surveys.
Under the Homestead Act of 1862, settlers were given 160 acres of land in the public domain if they built a home on the land, resided there for five years, and cultivated the land. A complete homestead entry file includes such documents as the homestead application, homestead proof, and final certificate authorizing the claimant to obtain a land patent.
Records at the Oregon State Archives:
Deeds [Miscellaneous-includes a small number of land patents], 1859-1957
(.30 cu.ft.);
Homestead Grant Records, 1916-1938 (.10 cu.ft.);
Land Record Clackamas County [Land Claims], vol. 2, 1850 (1 volume);
1850 (1 reel of microfilm);
Land Record Clackamas County [Land Claims-with index], 1850-1853 (1
reel of microfilm);
Land Records [Claim], 1850 (1 volume);
Oregon California Land Grant Records [Railroad], 1921-1935 (.20 cu.ft.);
Plat Book Index [includes land descriptions, land claim information, and
related transcribed documents], ca.1851 (1 volume);
Receiving Book [documents the recording of deeds, mortgages, and land patents],
vol. 1-4, 1890-1910 (4 volumes).
Records at the Clackamas County Assessment and Taxation Office, Cartography Area:
D.L.C. Ownerships [includes present owner information-with index],
vol. 4, ca.1920-ca.1950 (1 volume);
Land Book [includes present owner and Donation Land Claim information-with
index], vol. 5, ca.1920-ca.1950 (1 volume);
Township Donation Land Claims Clackamas County [Record-includes survey
information], 1892-1894 (1 volume).
Records at the Clackamas County Sunnybrook Service Center, Surveyor's Office Public
Research Room:
DLC and Homestead Index [Donation Land Claim], n.d. (1 binder);
DLC Surveys, 1853-1858 (.25 inch microfiche);
Index to Locations of All Files in Clackamas County Surveyor's Office [indexes
Donation Land Claims, surveys, corner restorations, roads, subdivisions, partitions,
and miscellaneous maps], ca.1851-ca.1993 (1 binder).
Records at the Clackamas County Sunnybrook Service Center, Surveyor's Office Vault:
Deed Index Book Donation Land Claims [alphabetical arrangement], 1850-ca.1935
(1 volume);
DLC Corners [Donation Land Claim-Sketch and Bearing Tree Reference Book],
n.d. (1 binder);
Donation Land Claim Notes [typescript-with index], 1853-1858 (1 volume);
Handwritten Copy of D.L.C. Surveys [Donation Land Claim Survey Notes],
1853-1858 (1 volume).
Records at the Clackamas County Archives:
Index to Donation Land Claims [also includes subdivision additions
index], n.d. (1 volume).
Records at a Related Web Site:
Search Land Patents [includes
patent and legal land descriptions and some document images], ca.1864-ca.1957
(BLM GLO Web site).