One million documents and counting
Lisa Mendenhall, Snedden Law Office; Randi Flaherty, deputy recorder; Cindy Brannon, recording manager; and Bridgitte Centorbi
(Courtesy photo)
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SANDPOINT — Just a few weeks short of the county's 115th birthday, the Bonner County Recorder's Office processed the county's one millionth document.
By the end of the day, another 76 were added to the total, according to recording manager Cindy Brannon.
"It was definitely historic for our county and it was neat to be a part of that," Brannon said.
The one millionth document was a warranty deed for a purchase of property that was brought in by Lisa Mendenhall for Snedden Law Office.
"She thought it was pretty cool," Brannon said.
While it is impossible to say what the first document recorded in the county was since the first deeds associated with the county were when the area was part of Kootenai County. It wasn't until Feb. 21, 1907, that Bonner County became a separate entity.
In the county's early days, the first documents were recorded by hand in massive log books as people came in before being cross referenced and noted. Now, as they have been since 1986, the documents are scanned into the community. The program automatically assigns the document a number and continues in sequence. After the information is input into the system, the document is returned to the individual or business.
It wasn't a surprise, Brannon said, for the millionth document to be a deed for real property.
"We've had a lot of those lately," she added.
In addition, Brannon said the office has recorded a lot of loans, deeds of trust and easements in recent years. However, those aren't the only documents that the office processes. Documents handled by the Recorder's Office include everything from real estate documents to surveys and plats for subdivisions to marriage documents.
"We were kind of hoping the millionth document would be a marriage license," Brannon said.
The broad range of documents recorded at the office is a surprise to many, she said.
"A lot of people don't realize what's in our office," Brannon added.
Activity at the Recorder's Office has picked up substantially in recent years, Brannon said. Back in 2008, the number of documents recorded at the office was about 700,000 — with the county only needing about 14 years to hit the remaining 300,000, she said.