Local History Resources

Looking into the past of Tillamook County? The Tillamook County Library is a great place to start!

Newspapers and Archives

The Tillamook Main Library houses many historical items! In our Archive Room, we have physical copies of many local newspapers. Our largest newspaper collection is the Headlight Herald, which we have dating back to the early 1900s, but we also have smaller collections of Fishwrapper, Nehalem Bay News, Tillamook County News, North Coast Times Eagle, Bay City Slug, and Pacific City Sun. 

Also in our Archive Room is the Webber Collection, a collection of papers by local author and historian Ebbert T. Webber. Click here to learn more about this great collection!

Upstairs at the Tillamook Main Library we have a small microfilm collection of the local newspapers. The Headlight Herald microfilms go all the way back to June 8, 1888! We also have microfilms of the Bay City Chronicle, Bay City Tribute, Cloverdale Courier, Nestucca Valley News, The Nehalem Enterprise, Tillamook Kilchis Advance, North Coast Times Eagle, Nehalem Valley Reporter, and Fishwrapper.

Also in microfilm are a couple rolls of Oregon census data from 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1910.

Make sure to check out the Historic Oregon Newspapers, where you can search and access historic Oregon newspapers that have been digitized as part of the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program. This database contains over 2,300,000 pages from Oregon newspapers dated 1846 - 2023, and they are continuing to add new titles.

Yearbooks

Trying to remember who sat next to you in second period math? Come take a look at our yearbook collection at the Tillamook Main Library. Check out these lists to see which yearbooks we have:

•  South Prarie School Annual
• Tillamook Junior High School Annual
• Rockaway Grade School Annual
• Sacred Heart High School Annual
• Nestucca High School Annual
• Neah-Kah-Nie High School Annual
• Tillamook High School Annual
• Cloudburst / Tillamook Adventist School Annual

Tillamook County Resources

In addition to our limited collection of materials, these local organizations may have resources to help you with your research:

• Tillamook Pioneer Museum
• Tillamook County History Society
• Nehalem Valley Historical Society
• Latimer Quilt & Textile Center
• Garibaldi Maritime Museum
• Garibaldi Cultural Heritage Initiative
• Pacific City Dorymen's Association
• Tillamook Air Museum
• International Police Museum in Rockaway Beach

At the South Tillamook County Library in Pacific City, you can find the South Tillamook County Library Club's Historical Files. The historical files are curated and maintained by a local historian, and they document the history of South County. 

These links have some great information too:

• Oregon Historical County Records - Tillamook County
• Oregon Encyclopedia - Tillamook
• The Quartux Journal - Northern Oregon Coast

Oregon History Resources

Interested in the history of Oregon? Check out these links:

• Oregon Blue Book (Check out the Cultural Resources page for information and links to Art Organizations, Media Outlets, History Organizations, and Natural Sciences and Technology institutions throughout Oregon)
• Oregon State Archives
• Oregon Historic Sites Database
• Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives
• Pacific University Archives
• University of Oregon Special Collection and University Archives
• Oregon Death Records and Indexes
• Indigenous History of Oregon