20 The natural and geologic history of the area is a part of Oregon’s rich landscape and is well worth further exploration if you’ve never visited. Within just a short distance from Christmas Valley you can visit Fort Rock, Crack in the Ground, Hole in the Ground, and Big Hole in the Ground, the Lost Forest Research Natural Area, the Four Craters Lava Field, and the Christmas Valley Sand Dunes. The sand dunes are very popular with four-wheel drive enthusiasts. Another great opportunity for exploring is the Fort Rock Homestead Village Museum which consists of furnished settler’s cabins preserved from destruction and moved to their current location near Fort Rock. While Christmas Valley is known for its geologic and continued natural history, there is also an underlying history of controversy. Christmas Valley, or Christmas Lake Valley as it was originally named, grew out of early exploration and the promise of free land. The Christmas Valley Properties website contains a comprehensive history of the area written by Melany Tupper, which begins with exploration by surveyor and explorer John Charles Fremont and continues through surveys by John Meldrum. As the controversy in this story builds, it’s important to note that the sixth edition of the Oregon Geographic Names Book disputes Fremont’s discovery of Christmas Lake and states the lake Fremont actually named is many miles from this location and in fact Fremont was never in Christmas Lake Valley. This claim by the book is based on the 1863 map of the Warner Valley issued by the Surveyor General of Oregon which depicts the lake that Fremont actually named. The Christmas name is also disputed as to how it came into being. Some speculate that early fur trading explorers may have named it. Another theory is that “Christmas” is a morphed version of an early settler family name in the valley which was “Chrisman” or sometimes spelled “Christman.” Aside from the origin of the name, numerous controversies persisted in the valley as Oregon developed. In the early 1900s, thousands of sheep were killed in range wars that spanned Christmas Lake Map. Photo from the General Land Office (GLO) archives. The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 6 The Lost Surveyor
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