Wasco County Oregon Death Records Index

Wasco County death index records date back to 1854 when the county was first formed. The Wasco County Clerk in The Dalles maintains these files. Wasco County is in north-central Oregon along the Columbia River. The county takes its name from the Wasco people who lived in the region long before settlers arrived. The Dalles served as a key stop on the Oregon Trail. Death records here reflect the dangers of frontier life, river travel, and pioneer settlement across Wasco County.

Wasco County Death Records Overview

The Wasco County Clerk holds death index records for the county. The office is in The Dalles. Staff can search the Wasco County death index by name and date of death. Walk-in visits and mail requests are both accepted. Records go back to the earliest years of the county.

Wasco County was once the largest county in the United States. It covered a vast area of land that was later split into many smaller counties. The death records from the 1850s and 1860s in the Wasco County death index reflect this broader geography. Some entries may pertain to deaths that took place in areas that are now part of other Oregon counties. The Wasco County official website provides contact details for the clerk office.

The Wasco County official website is shown here.

This page has contact details and services for the Wasco County Clerk in The Dalles.

Wasco County Death Index at State Archives

The Oregon State Archives holds many of the oldest Wasco County death records. These include death registers, burial permits, and coroner files. The archives have microfilm copies of some records. Others remain in their original form. You can order copies by mail or visit the archives in Salem. The State Archives page for Wasco County lists what is on hand.

Wasco County records at the State Archives span a very long time. Entries from the 1850s are among the oldest county death records in all of Oregon. Handwriting varies from one clerk to the next. Some old records in the Wasco County death index use short forms or leave out details that later entries would have. Fire and flood have caused some losses over the years, but the overall collection is strong and useful for genealogy work in Wasco County.

The State Archives listing for Wasco County is shown below.

This resource lists the types of Wasco County records held at the state archives.

Note: Some very early Wasco County death records may cover areas now in other counties, since Wasco County once stretched across most of eastern Oregon.

Columbia River Death Records

The Columbia River runs along the north edge of Wasco County. The river was both a lifeline and a source of danger for early settlers. Drownings appear throughout the Wasco County death index from the 1850s onward. Boating accidents, ferry mishaps, and falls into the rapids at The Dalles claimed many lives.

Fishing was a major source of food and trade along the river. Native peoples and settlers alike fished the Columbia for salmon. The dangerous rapids and strong currents led to deaths that were recorded in the Wasco County death index. As river traffic grew in the late 1800s, steamboat accidents added to the toll. Some of these events involved multiple deaths and were covered in detail by the local press and the county coroner.

The Dalles Dam, built in the 1950s, changed the river. The old rapids vanished under still water. But the Wasco County death index still records drownings and river-related deaths to this day. The Columbia remains a powerful and sometimes deadly force along the Wasco County border.

How to Get Wasco County Death Records

There are several ways to obtain death records from Wasco County. Your choice depends on how old the record is and what kind of copy you need.

For recent deaths, the Oregon Health Authority issues certified death certificates for all of Oregon. Records from 1903 to the present are on file. You can order online through VitalChek or by mail. Under ORS 432.350, certified copies are available to eligible applicants. Under ORS 432.380, access to certified copies is limited to family members, legal agents, and others with a direct interest.

You will need these items to request a Wasco County death record:

• Full name of the person who died
• Date of death or a range of years
• Place of death if known
• Reason for your request
• Valid photo ID for certified copies

Informational copies without legal weight are available to anyone for Wasco County records. These work well for genealogy and other research. Certified copies carry legal weight and are restricted to those who qualify under Oregon law.

The Dalles City Records

The Dalles is the seat of Wasco County and its largest city. City records can support death index research. Cemetery logs, old burial permits, and city health records add detail to what the Wasco County death index contains.

The City of The Dalles website has information about city services and local records.

The City of The Dalles page offers contact details and service information for local record requests.

The Dalles played a central role in Oregon Trail history. Thousands of migrants passed through on their way west. Some died here from illness, injury, or exhaustion. Their deaths were among the first entries in the Wasco County death index. The Pioneer Cemetery in The Dalles holds many of these early graves. Burial records from the cemetery can fill gaps in the Wasco County death index for the 1850s and 1860s.

Note: The Oregon Historical Records Index is a free tool for searching Wasco County death entries that have become public.

Wasco County Pioneer Death Records

Wasco County has some of the oldest death records in Oregon. The county was formed in 1854, just five years after Oregon became a territory. Settlers who made it to The Dalles at the end of the Oregon Trail were often in poor health. Disease, starvation, and injury took a toll on these early arrivals. The Wasco County death index from the 1850s captures some of these pioneer deaths.

Cholera, typhoid, and smallpox swept through The Dalles at various times. These outbreaks left clusters of death entries in the Wasco County death index. Coroner records from the era sometimes describe the conditions in stark terms. As the town grew, medical care improved. But for the first few decades, the death rate in Wasco County was high by any measure.

Nearby Counties

Wasco County borders Hood River County, Sherman County, Jefferson County, and Wheeler County. If a death took place near a county line, the record may be filed in an adjacent county. Check the death index for neighboring counties if you cannot find a record in Wasco County. Each of these counties keeps its own death records at the county clerk office and the Oregon State Archives.