Oregon Historical County Records Guide
Lake County Records Inventory
Insane Commitment Records
1875-[ongoing]
Series documents the examination, commitment, and release of mentally ill persons to and from the state's mental institutions. Series contains statements of complaint and commitment recorded by the county clerk or recorder and includes petitions to have an individual committed; physicians certification that an individual is insane; delivery warrants authorizing a county official (usually the sheriff) to take the individual to the state hospital; patient discharges; paroles or transfers; indexes; and correspondence. Information includes patient and family names, date committed, reason, physical description, and a brief family history. This series may also be known as the Insane Record, Mental Illness Record, and Mentally Ill and Feeble Minded Record. By 1968, in most counties, the commitment of the mentally ill or deficient had become the responsibility of the circuit court. Access to these records may be restricted for 75 years by Oregon Revised Statute 192.496.
Mental commitment case files have been indexed on the Oregon Judicial Information Network (OJIN) since 1988.
Records at the Lake County Courthouse, Circuit Court Basement East Storage Room:
Adoption/Juvenile/Mental [Case Files-includes interfiled mental commitment case files], 1995-1999 (2.40 cu.ft.);
Juvenile [Case Files-includes interfiled mental commitment case files],
1988-1994 (ca..30 cu.ft.);
Mental [Commitment Case Files], 1965-1988 (1 cu.ft.).
Records at the Lake County Courthouse, Circuit Court Basement West Storage Room:
Old Old [Insane Commitment Records], 1890-1898 (.15 cu.ft.).
Records at the Lake County Courthouse, Circuit Court Office Storage Room:
Adoption/Juvenile/Mental [Case Files-includes interfiled mental commitment case files], 1999-present (16 cu.ft.);
Confidential Psychiatric Reports,
1989-present (1.50 cu.ft.);
Probate Index [indexes probate, insane commitment, delayed birth, and other cases], n.d.-1983 (1 binder).
Records at the Lake County Courthouse, Clerk's Vault:
[Probate Case File Index-also indexes insane commitment cases], 1875-ca.1930 (1
volume).
Records at the Lake County Courthouse, Clerk's Basement North Storage Room:
Commissioners Records [County Court Judicial and
Administrative Case Files-includes road petitions and reports,
county officials reports, insane commitment records, and
naturalization declarations of intention, petitions, and
certificates], ca.1875-ca.1940 (7.50 cu.ft.);
County Court Journal [includes naturalization until 1906 and insane
commitments], vol. 2, 1902-1919 (1 volume);
County Court Journal [serves
as circuit court journal after 1957 and includes insane commitments-with index],
vol. 3, 1920-1961 (1 volume).
Records at the Lake County Courthouse, Clerk's Basement South Storage Room:
Commitment of Insane and Incompetent Persons, ca.1898-ca.1923
(.65 cu.ft.).
Records at the Lake County Courthouse, District Attorney's Basement Storage Room:
Record of Mentally Ill, vol. 4, 1962-1965 (1 volume).
Records at the Lake County Museum:
Journal County Court [includes naturalization and insane
commitment information], vol. 1, 1875-1902 (1 volume).
Records at the Schminck Memorial Museum:
Lake County Early Records [County Court Judicial and Administrative
Case Files-includes road petitions and reports, county officials
reports, insane commitment records], ca.1875-ca.1940 (3
cu.ft.);
Lake County Early Records Surname Index [to County Court Judicial and Administrative
Case Files-indexes road petitions and reports, county officials
reports, insane commitment records], ca.1875-ca.1940 (1 binder).