Oregon Tax Records
This entry was originally written by Dwight A. Radford for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
Some assessment or tax rolls from 1845 to 1900 are deposited at the Oregon State Archives, but most tax records are still at county courthouses. The archives also has a useful research tool from the state treasurer entitled, 'Reports of Estates, 1903'1913,' which contains the date of death and the names of heirs of those who died testate. This record is arranged by county, then by year.
Each county generated 'Tax Lot Cards,' which contain descriptions of real property and are used to track ownership, size of holding, and as a deed reference. These are inventoried on the Oregon State Archives website 'Oregon Historical County Records Guide' (see Oregon County Resources).
Oregon counties are required to keep their tax rolls through 1905. All subsequent records must be kept for fifty years before they are destroyed. The exception to this is for years ending in zero or five, which are kept for research samples.
