Research Resources

If you have any resources to add to what is already on this page, and you think others would find them helpful, please help by contacting the County Coordinator using the link at the bottom of any page, so that we may add them here. Thank you.

County and Local Resources:

• Chelan County Wikipedia
• Chelan County Government Offices, Wenatchee
• Chelan County Courthouse (Superior Court) - 350 Orondo Ave, Wenatchee ■ 509-667-6380
• Cashmere Chamber of Commerce, 103 Cottage Ave, Cashmere ■ 509-782-7404
• Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce, 216 E Woodin Ave, Chelan ■ 509-682-3503
• Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce, 940 Highway 2 Suite B, Leavenworth ■ 509-548-5807
• Manson Chamber of Commerce, 145 Wapato Way, Manson ■ 509-888-1553
• Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce, 137 N Wenatchee Ave, Wenatchee ■ 509-662-2116
• Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS), 127 S Mission St, Annex Bldg, Wenatchee WA 98801 ■ 509-888-6246
• Cashmere Museum and Pioneer Village, 600 Cotlets Way, Cashmere ■ 509-782-3230
• Chelan Valley Genealogical Society - Inactive
• Lake Chelan Historical Society and Museum, 204 E Woodin Ave, Chelan ■ 509-682-5644
• Greater Leavenworth Museum, 735 Front St (2nd level), Leavenworth ■ 509-548-0728
• Nutcracker Museum, 735 Front St (ground level), Leavenworth ■ 509-548-4573
• Museum of the Columbia (Rocky Reach Dam Discovery Center), 5000 State Hwy 97A, Wenatchee ■ 509-661-4960
• Wenatchee Valley History - The creation of Chelan County in 1899
• Wenatchee Valley Museum, 127 S Mission St, Wenatchee ■ 509-888-6240

Statewide Resources:

• Daughters of the American Revolution - Washington State Chapters
• Sons of the American Revolution - Washington State Chapters
• Washington Biographies Project for Chelan County
• Washington Rural Heritage - digitized sources documenting early culture, industry, and community life in Washington State.
• Washington State Archives, 1129 Washington St SE, Olympia ■ 360-586-1492 ■ email: research@sos.wa.gov
• Washington State Digital Archives - 960 Washington St, Cheney  ■ 509-235-7500 ext 200
• Washington State Genealogical Society, 1901 S 12th Ave, Union Gap ■ Info@wasgs.org
• Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave, Tacoma ■ 888-238-4373
  
• Washington State Library, Point Plaza East, 6880 Capitol Blvd, Tumwater ■ 360-704-5200  ■ email: askalibrarian@sos.wa.gov

GenWeb Links:

• WAGenWeb
• USGenWeb
• WorldGenWeb

Books:

• History of North Washington - by Richard F. Steele, published in 1904 and includes illustrated histories of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan (begins on page 669 of 867 pages) Counties. The entire book is downloadable as a very large PDF file or in other formats, or can be read online. The link will take you to a site where the entire book can be downloaded and saved. If you would like a PDF file of just the Chelan County section, contact the county coordinator at the bottom of any page and it request a copy to be emailed to you.
• The Night the Mountain Fell and Other Stories of North Central Washington History, a 1973 KPQ Publication - 98 pages, can be found at Wenatchee Valley College John A. Brown Library and other libraries. This 8.5x11" paperback book can also be found for purchase online for a wide range of prices at sites like Amazon or eBay. It contains many black and white photos, illustrations and historical stories as far back as 1872, the night the mountain fell and the Columbia River stopped flowing... The link will take you to many stories, articles and interviews relating to that night in 1872. If you scroll down to the bottom of the link's page, the very last article is printed on the first page of the book.
• Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, 1810-1813 - written by fur trader Alexander Ross and first published in 1849 wherein he mentions a lake called Tsill-ane by the natives (later on spelled as Chelan). From these writings Chelan County would receive its name.
• What They Found, Stories of People in North Central Washington by historian Rod Molzahn - a collection of stories about the people living in North Central Washington beginning 13,000 BP-9,000 BP to around 1905. Over 300 pages including rare photographs and original illustrations. Can be purchased ($35) at the Chelan Museum and A Book For All Seasons in Leavenworth.

Miscellaneous Resources:

• Genealogy Glossary - compliments of Family Tree Magazine.
• Medical Terms used in the 18th and 19th centuries.
• Genetic Genealogy abbreviations list.
• Library Trip Planning by Amy Johnson Crow - how to get the most out of your library visit, includes additional helpful links at bottom of page.
• Ancestry.com Chelan County Message Board - free to everyone to post queries as well as to search for posts about your ancestors.
• Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness - a global organization where volunteers help others obtain copies of documents, pictures of headstones, etc. that can't be easily obtained by those who do not live in the area of their ancestors (link points directly to Chelan County).
• The Ancestor Hunt - a wealth of free genealogical information including free links to resources, by state, for just about any type of records. Check out their Quick Sheets.
• FamilySearch.org - Research Wiki Chelan County Page. This is a free service through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Registration for an account is at no cost to you. Sign in and discover an infinity of historical information online or visit one of their many family history libraries. Also, search for Chelan County records here.
• Library of Congress - The largest library in the world online or in person (in Washington DC) with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps, and manuscripts in its collections. The link will take you to Chelan County WA. No cost.
• Cyndi's List - a no cost comprehensive, categorized and cross-referenced list of links to genealogical research sites online.

NCW Libraries:

• Cashmere Public Library, 300 Woodring St ■ 509-782-3314
• Chelan Public Library, 216 N Emerson St ■ 509-682-5131
• East Wenatchee Public Library, 271 9th St NE ■ 509-886-7404 (physically located in Douglas County)
• Entiat Public Library, 14138 Kinzel St ■ 509-784-1517
• Leavenworth Public Library, 700 Highway 2 ■ 509-548-7923
• Manson Public Library, 80 Wapato Way ■ 509-687-3420
• Peshastin Public Library, 8396 Main St ■ 509-548-7821
• Wenatchee Public Library, 310 Douglas St ■ 509-662-5021

Historical Newspapers:

Some historical newspapers in Chelan County have been digitized and can be found online. Links to no cost websites are provided in the table below in the first column. Dates of available weekly issues are listed next to each newspaper and may be browsed online and/or downloaded and saved, all from the comfort of your home. You might also try searching the following free sites: Washington Newspapers, Small Town Newspapers, Washington State Library, or Google Newspaper Archives. You never know what you might find! If all else fails, many newspapers can be found through various paid subscription services. You can visit each site to find out if they have newspapers in the geographical area you are looking and sign up for a free trial, anywhere from 7-14 days. Links to paid sites are provided here: GenealogyBank.com, Newspapers.com, NewspaperArchive.com, NewsLibrary.com, Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, FindMyPast.com.

Newspaper	Town	Time Period	Website
The Cashmere Valley Record	Cashmere	1907-current	Microfilm: Wa State Library
The 25 Mile Post	Chelan	193?-194?
Chelan Leader	Chelan	1892-1925	Microfilm: Wa State Library
Chelan Valley Mirror	Chelan	1925-1991	Microfilm: Wa State Library
Lake Chelan Mirror	Chelan	1991-current	Microfilm: Wa State Library
Lake Chelan News	Chelan	1922-1922
Chelan Falls Leader	Chelan Falls	1891-1892	Microfilm: Wa State Library
The Entiat Times	Entiat	Oct 1937-Dec 1938	Google Newspaper Archives and WA State Library
The Leavenworth Echo	Leavenworth	Feb 1904-Dec 1922	Chronicling America and WA State Library
El Mundo (Spanish)	Wenatchee	1991-1999	Microfilm: WA State Library
Republic	Wenatchee	1898-1914	Microfilm: UW Library/Seattle, WSU/Pullman, WA State Library
The Wenatchee Advance	Wenatchee	1891-1927	Microfilm: NCW Library/Wenatchee and WA State Library
The Wenatchee Advertiser	Wenatchee	1921-1921
Wenatchee Daily Sun	Wenatchee	1925-1939	Microfilm: UW Library/Seattle
The Wenatchee Daily World	Wenatchee	Jul 1905-Dec 1910	Chronicling America and WA State Library (microfilm)
Wenatchee Fruit Grower	Wenatchee	1926-1931
The Wenatchee Press	Wenatchee	1924-1925
Wenatchee Sun	Wenatchee	1921-1925
The Wenatchee Sun	Wenatchee	1939-1942	Microfilm: UW Library/Seattle
The Wenatchee World	Wenatchee	1971-current	Chronicling America and WA State Library (microfilm)

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