Find Genealogy Records in Parkland, Washington
Parkland is an unincorporated community in Pierce County, so all genealogy records for the area are maintained by Pierce County government rather than a city office. Researchers looking for birth, death, marriage, land, probate, or court records tied to Parkland families will use Pierce County Auditor and Clerk offices along with the Washington State Digital Archives. This page covers the key sources and how to reach them.
Parkland Overview
Genealogy Records for Parkland Families
Pierce County was created from Thurston County on December 22, 1852, and named for President Franklin Pierce. County records go back to 1852 at the courthouse level, though the oldest genealogically useful records are from around 1876. Because Parkland has no city government, every genealogy search for this community runs through county offices.
The Pierce County Auditor holds marriage and land records. Marriage records start in 1876. Land records, including plats and surveys, are available from 1973 and 1984 forward through the Digital Archives. The Pierce County Clerk maintains divorce, probate, and court records from 1890 and adoption records as well. For researchers tracing Parkland families, these two offices cover almost every record type needed.
The Pierce County website at piercecountywa.gov is the main access point for county services. The Auditor's page at piercecountywa.gov/714/Auditor explains the recording office's role and links to online document search tools. The county courthouse is located in Tacoma.
Note: The Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society explicitly lists Parkland in its service area, so that society is an especially good local resource for this community.
Pierce County Auditor and Vital Records
The Pierce County Auditor serves as the county recorder, maintaining land records and issuing marriage licenses. The office records and preserves documents affecting real property including deeds, mortgages, liens, easements, covenants, plat maps, and surveys. Certified copies of recorded documents and marriage certificates are available for a fee. The auditor's office has online document search tools for recorded documents from recent years.
For Pierce County vital records before July 1, 1907, researchers should contact the Washington State Archives or the Pierce County Auditor's historical records division. Records from that period cover births, deaths, and marriages before statewide registration began.
The Washington State Department of Health at doh.wa.gov holds birth and death certificates from July 1, 1907 forward. Marriage and divorce certificates from January 1, 1968 forward are also at the state level. Fees run $20-$25 per certified copy. For events before statewide registration, the DOH directs researchers to county auditors and the Washington State Archives.
The Washington State Archives Puget Sound Regional Branch in Bellevue serves Pierce County. Staff can be reached at (425) 564-3940 or psbrancharchives@sos.wa.gov. The branch holds records not yet digitized, including court case files and naturalization documents.
Pierce County Digital Archives Collections
The Washington State Digital Archives provides free online access to several Pierce County genealogy collections that directly serve Parkland family history research.
The Pierce County Auditor Birth Records collection covers 1891-1907. These records were imaged by the Genealogical Society of Utah and indexed by the Eastern Regional Branch. The collection includes affidavits of correction for birth registrations and is fully searchable online by party last name, first name, and middle name with year range filters.
Pierce County Auditor Death Records for 1892-1907 are also available in the Digital Archives. The Pierce County Death Certificates were imaged by the Genealogical Society of Utah and indexed by the Eastern Regional Branch. For death records after 1907, the Washington State Department of Health Death Certificates (1907-1997) and Death Index (1907-1960; 1965-2020) are available through the same Digital Archives portal.
The Pierce County Auditor Marriage Records collection spans 1876-1947 and 1984 to the present. These records were digitized by the Genealogical Society of Utah and indexed by Puget Sound Regional Branch staff and volunteers. The database is searchable by groom and bride names with marriage year filters and Soundex options. This collection is especially important for Parkland researchers because it covers the earliest settlement period of the community.
Land records in the Digital Archives include Pierce County Plats and Surveys from 1973 and 1984-2023, and Recorded Land Records from 1984-2023. Earlier land records must be requested directly through the Pierce County Auditor or the State Archives.
Pierce County Resources for Parkland Genealogy
The Pierce County government website at piercecountywa.gov provides access to auditor and clerk services for all unincorporated communities including Parkland.
From the Pierce County site you can reach the Auditor's recording office, online document search, and public records request portal. All Parkland community records are filed and accessed through these county channels.
Local Genealogical Resources for Parkland
The Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society is the primary local genealogy organization for this area. The society explicitly lists Parkland as part of its service area. It maintains special collections including an online index to Pierce County records published in "The Researcher" from 1969-2013. That index includes records from bibles, cemeteries, census, churches, courts, funeral homes, land, military, naturalizations, probate abstracts, schools, taxes, vital records, voter registration, and Washington pioneer records.
The society provides cemetery indexes, school records, and veterans' grave locations in Pierce County. Lookups from their indexes are available, along with research services and copies of obituaries for a fee. A list of published local genealogical resources is also available from the society.
The FamilySearch Wiki for Pierce County lists all known record collections for the county, including direct links to Digital Archives collections, microfilm inventories, and local research facilities. FamilySearch Centers in Tacoma and surrounding communities provide free access to FamilySearch databases and microfilm.
The Washington Rural Heritage program includes digitized photographs, newspapers, and community documents from Pierce County institutions. Browsing by county can surface records specific to the Parkland community.
Washington State Resources for Parkland Research
Statewide genealogy tools supplement county-level records for Parkland family history. The Washington State Digital Archives at digitalarchives.wa.gov provides free access to over 200 million records from Washington's state and local governments. The portal covers birth and death registers (1891-1907), marriage records, land records, probate files, school censuses, military records, city directories, and naturalization documents.
The Legacy Washington gateway at sos.wa.gov/legacy/genealogy.aspx links to the Birth Records Index (1907-1929), Death Records Index (1907-2000), Marriage Records Index (1968-2004), and Divorce Records Index (1968-1999). These statewide indexes let you locate a record quickly and then request the full document from the appropriate office.
The Washington State Library genealogy guides at washstatelib.libguides.com cover newspapers, city directories, and microfilm holdings. The State Library's Northwest Microfilm collection holds county birth and death registers for the pre-1907 period, including Pierce County materials. Staff can help with interlibrary loan and research referrals.
The FamilySearch Washington State guide at familysearch.org covers federal censuses, military records, court records, probate files, land patents, and naturalization records. It explains Washington's county boundary changes and lists all 39 counties with links to county-specific research pages.
Note: Reclaim The Records has published free Washington indexes to births, marriages, deaths, divorces, and voter registrations obtained through public records requests. These can be useful supplements to official state indexes.
Pierce County Genealogy Records
All genealogy records for Parkland are held by Pierce County. For courthouse addresses, office contact information, and the full range of Pierce County genealogy resources, visit the county records page.
Nearby Cities
These cities are near Parkland and access records through county offices in the South Puget Sound region.