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
• Willamette Meteorite History
• Past mayors and councilors

Resources for Further Research

Newspapers

• Print back issues of the West Linn Tidings from 1981 to present are shelved in the Media Room. The is also available on microfilm at the Wilsonville Library (1984-2004) and at the University of Oregon Library (1985-2008).
• Digital issues of the West Linn Tidings (June 2006 - present) are available through the Oregon News Sources database at the Lake Oswego Library.
• 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 Oregon Newspaper Project is a collaborative effort between Oregon's newspaper publishers and the University of Oregon Library to preserve and archive Oregon newspapers on microfilm.
• 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.
• The Oregon Index Online contains citations to articles published in Portland and Salem newspapers, journals, book chapters, and more. Topics cover events and issues important to Oregon history and state government.
• The Google News Archive contains scans of historical newspapers from around the country.

Historic Photographs

• The Oregon Historical Society library and the Clackamas County Historical Society both have large collections of historic photographs in their collections.
• The Oregon Historical Society launched a Digital Collections site that contains items from their manuscript, photograph, film, and oral history collections.
• The Clackamas County Historical Society has digitized 10,000 photographs and put them online.
• 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 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 accessible through the Wilsonville Library.
• The library edition of Ancestry is available at the Lake Oswego, Oregon City, 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 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.