Short Town History

How did Christmas Valley Oregon, a high desert Oregon Valley get its name?

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The name Christmas Valley conjures up acres and acres of forested property as far as the eye can see. Christmas Valley definitely not a forested area. Christmas Valley is a prime example of high desert beauty with sagebrush and other high desert fauna. Rumor had it that General Fremont discovered Christmas Valley on Christmas Day and hence the sprawling valley got its name Christmas Valley. This however is not how Christmas Valley Oregon got its name.

The most accepted version on how Christmas Valley got its name is as follows: Christmas Lake, Christmas Lake Valley and a close geological anomaly Peter’s Sink were named after an old time cattleman named peter Christman who used the thousands of acres known as Christmas Valley for grazing cattle. The name Christmas Valley is an early miss use of the Christman name. there is a bit of confusion on the Christman name because many people put a “T” in it and it became Christman which later morphed into Christmas and that is how it became known as Christmas Valley.