King County land records

Land records

Donation land claims

Donation Land Claims Index and Maps (1861-1882)

Under the Oregon Donation Land Claims Act of 1850, Congress allowed 320 acres of land in Western territories to be claimed by a single person and 640 acres by a married couple. The claimants received final title to their land when they had lived on it for four years and made certain improvements, or when they purchased their land in lieu of fulfilling residency requirements. Records include a name index to Donation Land Claim owners, as well as legal descriptions and maps of land claims.

Land Office Correspondence (1879-1887)

This series includes correspondence between the Clerk of the Territorial District Court in Seattle and the U.S. Land Office in Olympia. Usually, the correspondence pertains to incomplete homestead applications. Most of these applicants were instructed to provide signatures, proofs of naturalization, fees or other application requirements. Some letters from homesteaders to the Land Office are included. The correspondence generally includes information such as the names of the land owners, the date their land was settled or a legal description of the property. Other valuable information is sometimes included including a description of the family (spouse and number of children), occupation(s) of land owners, land improvements and/or building descriptions. Although this series dates from 1879, most of the correspondence is from 1884-1887.

Land registration [Torrens Title Act records]

Registered land general index, 1907-1987

Index of persons holding interest in or charges against land registered under the Torrens Title Act*, arranged alphabetically, name of registered owner, date of filing, type of instrument filed (such as deed, mortgage or mortgage satisfaction), citation to registered title, and description of land.

Registered land tract index, 1907-1991

Index to land registered under the Torrens Title Act*, arranged by plat name for platted areas of the county and by section, township and range for unplatted land. Data for each entry include name of owner, citation to land register, and description.

Registered land: duplicate certificate of title register, 1907-1951

Index to land registered under the Torrens Title Act*. Entries are arranged chronologically under the first letter of the certificate holder's surname, and include date of certificate issue, reference to volume and page of land register and certificate numbers, title file number and legal description of property with notations for payment or cancellation.

Registered land filings, c. 1930-1971

Microfilm. Arranged by Auditor's filing number.

*Definition: The Torrens Title Act (adopted in Washington State in 1907) provides an alternate method for establishing title to property. It differs from traditional recording systems in that the state guarantees the owner's title. Under the Torrens System, state courts approve an examination of a parcel's title history and ultimately issue a Certificate of Title to the owner. The certificate is then registered with the county auditor or recording office.

Property values and tax rolls

Historical King County property tax rolls are held at Puget Sound Regional Archives. Please contact them to access the following records:

Real Property Assessment and Tax Rolls 1862-1941

These records show the fee owner, the legal description of the property, the tax assessment, a record of payment, and who paid the taxes. Holdings are incomplete for the period 1862-1899. King County Archives holds the 1891 volume. For the period 1900-1941, the series includes every fifth year, ending in 1935 and 1941. This series is indexed (1891-1974) by the Index to the Real Property Assessment and Tax Rolls for King County. Index entries are organized alphabetically by name of addition, town, or donation claim and list volume and page number.

Property Record Cards, 1937-1972

This series provides a cumulative history describing each parcel of real property in King County, including legal description of property, building use, number of rooms, some construction details, and, for improved property, at least one photograph. Property record cards are accessed by tax parcel number or brief legal description (subdivision, block and lot). Obtain tax parcel numbers can be obtained on the King County Assessor's Office online platform Parcel Viewer.

Real Property Assessment and Tax Rolls, 1974-1998

This series provides information on the amount of property taxes assessed on real property in King County. These microfiche records show the fee owner, the legal description of the property, the levy rate, the tax assessed, and the receipt date for payments. Arranged by year and by tax parcel number within each year.

Puget Sound Regional Archives holds the following King County records related to tax assessments.

• Personal property assessment and tax rolls, 1891-1958
• Recapitulation of tax rolls, 1894
• Lake Washington canal assessment rolls, 1908
• Railroad real property assessment and tax rolls, 1913-1950
• Real property exempt from taxation rolls, 1936

Property tax payments and adjustments

Tax Citations (1892)

These records contain names of property owners as well as legal description of their properties with unpaid taxes listed.

Proceedings of the Board of Equalization, 1894-1899

Records of the meetings of the board, including date of filing of each petition; name of petitioner; lot, block, and addition or subdivision affected; request of petitioner; and action of board in each case. Includes records of raising the personal property tax assessment for 1898; they list names of many businesses and individuals.

Puget Sound Regional Archives holds the following King County records related to appeals, adjustments and delinquent taxes.

• Delinquent tax roll and list of property sold, Seattle, 1873-1883
• Real property sold for delinquent taxes lists, 1873-1889
• Sheriff's list of property sold for delinquent taxes, 1873-1889
• Delinquent property tax assessment rolls, 1877-1892
• Record of cancellation or refund of taxes on real property, 1897-1909
• Certificates of delinquent taxes, 1917-1924
• Complaints of delinquent taxes and application for judgment and decree, 1920-1935
• Answers to real property petitions before the Washington State Board of Tax Appeals, 1969-1970

Property acquisition records

Road Deeds Log (1905-1909)

This volume appears to be a ledger kept for the purpose of documenting King County's acquisition of property, by deed or condemnation, for road rights-of-way during the time period. Individual entries were made for each road. Record information usually includes road name, width, and a short description of the road. Also present may be road number ("R#") or survey number ("S#"); essential dates (of road examination, survey, completion); and other handwritten notes. A second section details information about property owners: section-township-range coordinates of property, part of section affected, owner name, owner address or whereabouts, property price, acreage, and other remarks. Remarks usually state the date the property deed was received or recorded by King County. Also noted may be the status of the property acquisition, problems with individual owners, efforts to locate owners, condemnation activities, and the ultimate status of the road. Arrangement of the volume is roughly chronological. An alphabetical index to road names is present but there is no owner name index.

Road Establishment Files (Road History Packets) online (ca. 1850s-1960s)

Scanned into the Road Services Division Map Vault, this series documents the establishment and related history of King County roads between the 1850s and the 1960s. Many of the roads were petitioned for by local property owners, and the road names often reflect the main petitioner. Records include the petition with every landowner that signed on, deeds documenting the land taken for the road's right-of-way, survey field notes, correspondence in favor of or objecting to establishment, and/or maps that sometimes show location of houses and outbuildings. If your ancestor owned land in King County during this period, try searching their surname in the Project/map name field, or search by section, township, and range with a Map Type of "Road History Packet" under the Advanced Search tab.

Georgetown property owners (1955)

Series 288 includes deeds and other property records, appraisal reports, and bond issue files relating to the acquisition of property for the construction and development of the King County International Airport (Boeing Field). The bulk of the material documents the efforts to acquire land to expand the airport "clear zone" in the late 1950s, including a detailed appraisal report from 1955. This report contained individual photographs of over 100 homes and other sites in the Georgetown and Beacon Hill neighborhoods. To view a sample of these images, please visit our Historical Photographs research guide.