Find Genealogy Records in Pullman
Pullman is located in Whitman County in the Palouse region of southeastern Washington, and genealogy records for Pullman families run deep. The city was incorporated in 1888 and is home to Washington State University. Whitman County records go back to the 1860s, and many of the key collections — births, marriages, deaths, land filings, and court records — are now available online through the Washington State Digital Archives. This guide explains where to find Pullman genealogy records and how to access them whether you are searching from home or planning an in-person visit.
Pullman Overview
Whitman County Genealogy and Pullman Records
Whitman County was created from Stevens County on January 2, 1872, and named after Dr. Marcus Whitman, the Presbyterian missionary killed in 1847. The county seat is Colfax. The County Clerk has marriage records from 1872 to 1891, probate records from 1870, divorce and court records from 1864, and naturalization records from 1862 to 1942. The County Auditor has birth and death records from 1891 to 1907 and land records. Known government record start dates: births from 1875, marriages from 1872, deaths from 1891, court from 1861, land from 1874, and probate from 1878.
For Pullman specifically, the city clerk maintains municipal records including council minutes, ordinances, and resolutions. Visit pullman-wa.gov for public records requests under the Washington Public Records Act. Pre-incorporation Pullman records, and all vital records outside the city clerk's scope, are found through Whitman County offices and state archives.
The FamilySearch Wiki for Whitman County is a thorough guide. It lists every known record series, date ranges, and which office or archive holds them. Local histories such as "Historic Sketches of Walla Walla, Whitman, Columbia and Garfield Counties, Washington Territory" by Frank T. Gilbert (1882) and "An Illustrated History of Whitman County, State of Washington" are available at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, and Ancestry.
Pullman Genealogy Records Online
The Washington State Digital Archives hosts multiple Whitman County collections that are free to search from any device. These are the most efficient starting point for Pullman genealogy research.
The Whitman County Auditor, Birth Records, 1889-1907 contains 3,492 records including an index and images. Search by the parents' last name for best results; the mother's last name will be her maiden name. Records were filmed and indexed by the Washington State Archives Eastern Regional Branch staff and Eastern Washington University student interns. For more information contact the Eastern Region Branch at (509) 235-7508 or eabrancharchives@sos.wa.gov.
Marriage records for Whitman County are spread across several collections. The main series is Whitman County Auditor, Marriage Records 1872-2002, with an index and images. Marriage returns from 1890 to 1939 are also available separately. Marriage License Applications cover 1939-1947. Marriage Certificates cover 1962-2022. And the current Whitman County Auditor, Marriage Records from 1987 to the present continues the series. For death records, the collection covers 1891 to 1907.
Land records are held in the Whitman County Auditor, Recorded Land Records, 1987-2022 collection and the Plats and Surveys, 1987-2022 collection — both with index and images at the Digital Archives.
The Whitman County Auditor birth records from 1889 to 1907 at the Washington State Digital Archives include index and images of returns filed before statewide vital registration began. These are an important resource for early Pullman family history.
Whitman County Recording and Land Records
The Whitman County Auditor's office manages land and recording documents for Pullman and the rest of the county. For online document searches, the county uses a public web portal at whitmancounty.gov/Recording-Searches. Public login allows you to see a summary of documents by name, parcel number, or Auditor File Number. To view full documents, you must register as a new user.
Historical documents filed before 1982 are not available online. For those records, you have three options: view digital images at the Auditor's office, inspect physical records at the Washington State Archives Eastern Regional Branch in Cheney, or request a recording deputy paid search. The deputy search requires a 5-year time frame, grantor or grantee name, and an abbreviated legal description. The charge is $8 per hour for staff search time and $1 per printed page.
The Whitman County Genealogical Society is at 115 NW State Street, Room 103A, PO Box 393, Pullman, WA 99163-0393. Local genealogical societies often hold materials not found anywhere else: donated family histories, cemetery transcriptions, and obituary files. The Whitman County Rural Library District and the Niell Public Library in Pullman are also useful for local history and genealogy research.
State Archives for Pullman Researchers
The Washington State Archives Eastern Regional Branch holds the primary archival collections for Whitman County. It is located at 960 Washington Street on the campus of Eastern Washington University in Cheney. The branch is open for in-person research Wednesdays through Fridays by appointment only; closed Mondays and Tuesdays for in-person visits. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed from 12 to 1 p.m. Email: eabrancharchives@sos.wa.gov. Phone: (509) 235-7500. More information is available at sos.wa.gov/archives.
The Eastern Branch serves Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties. Collections span the territorial period to the present and include school census records, tax assessment rolls, court dockets and case files, photographs, maps, plats, and engineering drawings. For Whitman County researchers looking into early Pullman families, the court dockets and probate files here can be valuable.
Additional Whitman County collections at the Digital Archives supplement the birth and marriage records with other auditor documents, providing a broad base of searchable genealogy records for Pullman ancestry research.
The City of Pullman's official website at pullman-wa.gov is the access point for municipal public records requests. The city clerk holds council minutes, ordinances, and administrative records from 1888 onward that can document Pullman family history at the local level.
Vital Records and Statewide Resources
Birth and death records from July 1, 1907 onward are held by the Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, 101 Israel Road SE, Tumwater, WA 98501. Phone: (360) 236-4300. Certificates cost $25 each and can be ordered through VitalChek online or by mail. Marriage certificates from January 1, 1968 onward and divorce records from that date forward are also available through the state DOH.
The Washington State Library's genealogy guide at washstatelib.libguides.com/genealogy lists databases and local collections for Whitman County. The Washington Rural Heritage project at washingtonruralheritage.org has digitized local newspapers from the Palouse region including early Pullman-area coverage.
The Washington Secretary of State's genealogy page at sos.wa.gov/legacy/genealogy.aspx provides an overview of statewide holdings and links to all regional branches. FamilySearch at familysearch.org is also a free starting point for Washington State genealogy with guides for every county.
Note: Whitman County has no known history of courthouse disasters, so the records are in generally good shape going back to the county's formation in 1872.
Whitman County Records
Pullman is in Whitman County, and all vital records, land documents, and court filings for Pullman are processed through Whitman County offices. The county holds records going back to the early 1860s. For a complete guide to Whitman County genealogy resources and how to access them, visit the county page.
Nearby Cities
These cities are near Pullman in the eastern Washington region. Pasco and Richland are in the Tri-Cities area and file through Franklin and Benton counties respectively.