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Wheeler County, Oregon Public Records

Find the right office in Wheeler County. Court cases, deeds and parcels, sheriff and jail records, vital records and county filings, each linked to the office that keeps them.

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Most requested Wheeler County records

Every card below goes to the government office responsible for that record. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.

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Showing 5 official sources

Official

Federal

Wheeler County U.S Census

United States Census Bureau figures for Wheeler County, Oregon, with population, housing, income and business counts from the latest estimates.

census.gov
Open official site Wheeler County U.S Census
Official

Vital records

Wheeler County Vital Records

Wheeler County Vital Records, the office that issues these certificates, with the application, identification and fee rules it publishes.

oregon.gov
Open official site Wheeler County Vital Records
Official

City records

Directory of Towns in Wheeler County

Directory of Towns in Wheeler County, the county government site, with its department pages, elected officials and contact information.

wheelercountyoregon.com
Open official site Directory of Towns in Wheeler County

Local record guide

About public records in Wheeler County

County profile

Wheeler County at a glance

State
Oregon
County seat
Fossil
Population
1,451
Area
1,715 sq mi
Founded
1899
Cities and towns
3

Wheeler County offices and records

Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Wheeler County Sheriff's Office is responsible for maintaining law and order within Wheeler County.

Police Departments. Wheeler County is primarily served by Wheeler County Sheriff's Office, which handles law enforcement duties across Wheeler County. In addition, the city of Fossil has its own municipal police department that collaborates with the Sheriff's Office on local matters.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Law enforcement services in Wheeler County, Oregon are provided primarily by Wheeler County Sheriff's Office, headquartered in Fossil at 701 Adams Street, which can be contacted through the office’s website. To inquire about current inmates or booking information, citizens should contact the Sheriff's Office directly during business hours. The three incorporated cities, Fossil, Spray, and Mitchell, do not maintain independent municipal police departments; all law enforcement services are consolidated under the Sheriff's Office. Arrest records and booking information in Wheeler County are public records under Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 192.311 to 192.478, which comprise Oregon's Public Records Law. Box 435, Fossil, OR 97830, or by phone. Due to Wheeler County's small size and limited resources, online inmate lookup systems and digital mugshot databases are not available; all inquiries require direct contact with the Sheriff's Office.

Arrest Records. Arrest records in Wheeler County are maintained by Wheeler County Sheriff's Office. Residents and attorneys can request arrest records by contacting the Sheriff's Office directly. The Oregon Public Records Law, known as the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 192, governs the accessibility of these records, for public access and public access to governmental documents.

Jail & Inmate Records. Inmate lookup services are available through the Sheriff's Office, allowing family members and attorneys to find information about current inmates.

Mugshots & Booking Photos. Mugshots in Wheeler County are taken and retained by Wheeler County Sheriff's Office during the booking process. These booking photos are part of the public record and can be accessed through the Sheriff's Office.

Abandoned mine records

Old mine workings in Wheeler County

Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.

From the old mine records

What is on record in Wheeler County

Old mine sites
52
Sites with no status in the records
3
Still producing
23
Worked underground, in the mine records
4
Main minerals
Stone; Gold; Mercury
Holes drawn on the old survey maps
128
Shafts and tunnels
3
What they are
gravel pit, gravel/borrow pit - undifferentiated, adit, mine shaft
Maps surveyed
1966 to 1990
Records behind them
227 records for 206 sites, the rest are the same working written down more than once

Is an old working under a property here?

The mine records hold 78 named mine sites inside the county, 52 of them worked out or abandoned; the old survey maps add 128 holes drawn inside the county, 3 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are Stone; Gold; Mercury.

A point in either file is a location, not a property line: the sheet shows the opening on the surface, not the rooms under it. The record that shows what runs under a parcel is the mine map. The OSMRE National Mine Map Repository holds scanned underground mine maps and answers requests for a named mine or an area. Oregon has no state abandoned mine land program page; abandoned mine hazards on federal land are a BLM and Forest Service matter.

Wheeler County: the boundary from the Census Bureau, and one dot for each old mine or hole on record inside it. The purple dots come off the old survey maps and the darkest of those are shafts and tunnels; the red, green and orange ones are mine records. Hover a dot for its name.
Oregon mine map and abandoned mine records
Named workings recorded in Wheeler County (79 shown, 126 unnamed on the map)

Rows taken off the old survey maps open the USGS record of what sits at that spot, because no single feature on those maps has a page of its own. Rows from the mine records open their own USGS page.

Disclaimer: The mine information here is for general information only. Old mine records can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and finding nothing here does not mean there is nothing there. Check with the mine map office named here before you rely on it, and have a qualified engineer look at any ground you are worried about. PublicRecordCenter.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of this information.

Straight answers

Wheeler County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where can I find mugshots or booking photos in Wheeler County, Oregon?

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Wheeler County Sheriff's Office or a city police department in Wheeler County. Ask that agency for its record. Under ORS 133.870, as amended by Senate Bill 993 (2025), a law enforcement agency may not release a booking photo except to the person shown, other law enforcement, the victim, a party in the criminal case, the court, a licensed investigator or a state mental hospital, to the public when there is a law enforcement purpose such as catching a fugitive, or after a conviction that results from that arrest.

How do I get a criminal background check in Wheeler County, Oregon?

The Oregon criminal history record comes from the Oregon State Police, Criminal Justice Information Services. Request a name based Open Record on another person through the OSP Open Records Portal (ORS 181A.245), or mail the form, a fingerprint card and the fee for a copy of your own record; OSP takes public fingerprints only at its Salem headquarters. Fee: $33 for an Open Record name search on another person; $33.00 for a fingerprint based copy of your own record.

How can I look up sex offenders in Wheeler County, Oregon?

Search the Oregon Sex Offender Registry (Oregon State Police; public site lists Level 3 offenders), or every state at once on the National Sex Offender Public Website run by the U.S. Department of Justice.

How do I register to vote in Wheeler County, Oregon?

Register with the county elections office or through the Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division. You can also register online with the state online registration. The deadline to register is 21 days before Election Day; many voters are registered automatically at the DMV.

How do I look up property records in Wheeler County, Oregon?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Wheeler County are kept by the Wheeler County clerk. Property values are set by the county assessor, and tax bills come from the county tax collector. Source: official state page.

How do I get a birth or death certificate in Wheeler County, Oregon?

Certified birth and death certificates for Oregon come from the Oregon Health Authority, Center for Health Statistics (Oregon Vital Records). Most county vital records offices in Oregon issue birth and death records for six months after the date of the event; they are in the county health department or the county clerk's office. Online or by phone through the state's contracted vendor VitalChek, by mail to Oregon Vital Records, PO Box 14050, Portland OR 97293, at the drop box at 800 NE Oregon Street, Portland, or in person by appointment at that address. Fee: $25 for a computer issued birth certificate and $30 for a full image birth certificate; $25.00 for each additional certificate.

How do I find business license records in Wheeler County, Oregon?

Business entity filings are searched with the Oregon Secretary of State, Corporation Division. Oregon has no general state business license; cities and counties may require a license for businesses operating in their jurisdictions.

Same county

Cities, towns and neighboring counties

Use the city page when a record was created by a municipal police department or city office; use the county page for courts, deeds, vital records and jail custody.