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
  
• 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
  

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).
• A number of different newspapers have been published in Oregon City 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) at the Milwaukie Library, Lake Oswego Library, and Multnomah County Library. 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.

Historic Photographs

• The Oregon Historical Society library has a large collection of historic photographs.
• The Clackamas County Historical Society also has a large collection 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

• 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.