Local History Information

Print Resources

The library has a small collection of reference books covering the history of West Linn and surrounding areas, including information on McLean House and Park, Maddax Woods, historic structures in Clackamas County, and the Willamette Meteorite.

See our brochure which lists library resources on the history of West Linn, Clackamas County, Portland, and Oregon.

Online Resources

• Just Yesterday: A Brief Story of West Linn, Oregon
• City of West Linn Historic Context Statement: Willamette and Holly Grove Neighborhoods
• City of West Linn: History
• Willamette Falls Historic District Nomination Form
• Historic Bolton Neighborhood Walking Tour
• Historic Willamette Neighborhood Walking Tour
• Website for the local newspaper, the West Linn Tidings
• Series of seven history articles written by Sandy Carter for the West Linn Tidings
• Historic Sanborn Maps
• Historic West Linn Maps
• Historic West Linn Plat Maps
• West Linn Historic Donation Land Claims
• West Linn Centennial
• Information about time capsule hidden at the library
• Article About Linn City

Resources for Further Research

Newspapers

• The West Linn Tidings is available on microfilm at the Wilsonville Library (1984-2004) and at the University of Oregon Library (1985-2008). The Portland Tribune website contains an archive of Tidings articles (2002-2011).
• A number of different newspapers have been published in Oregon City, Lake Oswego, and West Linn since the mid-1800s. Many of these are available on microfilm at the University of Oregon Library.
• The Oregonian is available as a searchable database (1987-present) with your Clackamas County library card. For years 1861-1987, the Multnomah County Library has the searchable Oregonian Historical Archive database. Microfilm for years 1937-present is available at the Lake Oswego Library.
• The University of Oregon's Historic Oregon Newspapers page has a number of pre-1922 newspaper articles available free online.
• The Oregon Index is a selective index of Oregon newspapers, and Oregon items in selected other publications. It does not contain full-text articles.

Historic Photographs

• The Oregon Historical Society library and the Clackamas County Historical Society both have large collections of historic photographs.
• The Oregon Digital database contains photographs, journal articles, sheet music, manuscripts, and ephemera from the libraries at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University.
• The Oregon State Library has a photograph collection containing several thousand glass plate negatives and prints covering a wide range of Oregon-related subjects. They have digitized a small portion of that collection and made it available online.
• The Historic Images of Oregon database contains photos of Oregon with a special focus on the City of Salem and other Willamette Valley communities.

Genealogy

• HeritageQuest is a genealogy database that you can access with your Clackamas County library card.
• The library edition of Ancestry is available at the Lake Oswego and Wilsonville Libraries.
• The Willsonville Library has a print collection of genealogical material and also provides access to several online resources.
• The Clackamas County Family History Society is available to help you research your roots.
• The Genealogical Forum of Oregon has one of the largest independent genealogy libraries on the West Coast.
• The Portland Area Personal Ancestral File Users Group provides classes year-round to help you with your research.
• The Oregon Genealogy website contains information for Baker, Crook, Grant, Hood River, Lane, Linn, Malheur, Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa Counties.

Maps

• The Historical Topographic Map Collection from the U.S. Geological Survey contains digitized copies of old topo maps from the USGS.
• The ORMAP Project allows you to search for taxlots in Oregon and download PDF copies of the assessors maps.
• The Oregon Maps collection contains a selection of digitized maps from the vast map collections of Oregon State University and University of Oregon.
• The Digital General Land Office Maps contains donation land claim maps that show the original settlement and ownership patterns in Oregon.
• The David Rumsey Map Collection contains more than 150,000 maps, 36,000 of which are available online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century maps of North and South America, although it also has maps of the World, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania.