Native Americans used the Warner Valley for thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived.
 The valley has scores of petroglyphs, some estimated to be 12,000 years old.
 The Greaser Petroglyph Site, in the South Warner Valley, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The first European explorer to enter the valley was probably John Work, who headed a Hudson's Bay Company trapping expedition in 1832.
 While it is not certain that he visited the valley, he was in the area and left a description of a "valley of lakes" that correspond closely to the Warner Valley.
 The next explorer to arrive in the valley was Captain John C. Fremont, who led a party through the valley in December 1843.
 Fremont named it Christmas Valley since his party spent Christmas Day camped near Hart Lake.
 However, early mapmakers mistakenly sited Christmas Valley at another location 60 miles (97 km) northwest of the Warner Valley, leaving the valley unnamed on an early map.

In 1849, the valley was explored by Captain William H. Warner, an Army topographical engineer.
 On 26 September 1849, Warner was ambushed and killed by Indians just south of the Warner Valley.
 In 1864, Lieutenant Colonel C. S. Drew of the 1st Oregon Cavalry visited the valley while on a long-range reconnaissance patrol.
 Drew named the valley in honor of Warner, who he believed had been killed there.

In 1865, the Army decided it needed a fort in the Warner Valley to facilitate the interdiction of Indian raiding parties passing through the area.
 Army scouts selected a site along Honey Creek on the west side of the Warner Lakes.
 In 1866, a detachment from Fort Boise was sent to establish the fort.
 The soldiers arrived on the east side of the lakes in late summer.
 Unable to cross the chain of lakes and marshes, the soldiers built a winter camp on the east side of the lakes.
 The camp was sited poorly and the men had a very difficult winter.
 In February 1867, General George Crook visited the Warner Valley outpost.
 Crook directed that the camp be moved to the Honey Creek site west of the lakes.
 To get the Army’s wagons across the wetlands, Crook ordered the construction of a bridge across the narrow channel between Hart Lake and Crump Lake.
 Shortly after the bridge was begun a second detachment was sent ahead to build the new fort.
 The Stone Bridge was completed that summer and the soldiers moved into the new camp, which was named Fort Warner.
 By 1869, the Indian raids in south-central Oregon had ended and a treaty had been signed.
 With no Indian raiders left in the area, Fort Warner was abandoned in 1874.
 While nothing remains of Fort Warner, the Stone Bridge the Army built to cross the Warner wetlands still exists.
 The bridge is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1865, the United States Congress authorized the construction of the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road from Eugene, Oregon, to Fort Boise in Idaho.
 Congress allowed the construction company to claim three sections of land for every mile of road built.
 As a result, road surveyors laid out a route designed to pass through as much well-watered, desirable land as possible.
 The route of the military road came through the Warner Valley, crossing over the Warner Lakes at the Stone Bridge before passing south of Hart Mountain through what is today the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge and heading east.

In reality, the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road was a venture designed to acquire public lands at little or no cost to the road company’s investors.
 Nevertheless, the construction company was able to secure thousands of acres of valuable grazing land in the Warner Valley.
 Legal disputes kept the ownership of these lands in question for decades, preventing settlers from claiming land grants for farms and ranches.
 Ownership was finally decided by the United States Supreme Court in a case known as the United States versus the California and Oregon Land Company.
 Eventually, the land passed into the hands of the Oregon Valley Land Company, which subdivided it into l
Native Americans used the Warner Valley for thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived.  The valley has scores of petroglyphs, some estimated to be 12,000 years old.  The Greaser Petroglyph Site, in the South Warner Valley, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The first European explorer to enter the valley was probably John Work, who headed a Hudson's Bay Company trapping expedition in 1832.  While it is not certain that he visited the valley, he was in the area and left a description of a "valley of lakes" that correspond closely to the Warner Valley.  The next explorer to arrive in the valley was Captain John C. Fremont, who led a party through the valley in December 1843.  Fremont named it Christmas Valley since his party spent Christmas Day camped near Hart Lake.  However, early mapmakers mistakenly sited Christmas Valley at another location 60 miles (97 km) northwest of the Warner Valley, leaving the valley unnamed on an early map.
In 1849, the valley was explored by Captain William H. Warner, an Army topographical engineer.  On 26 September 1849, Warner was ambushed and killed by Indians just south of the Warner Valley.  In 1864, Lieutenant Colonel C. S. Drew of the 1st Oregon Cavalry visited the valley while on a long-range reconnaissance patrol.  Drew named the valley in honor of Warner, who he believed had been killed there.
In 1865, the Army decided it needed a fort in the Warner Valley to facilitate the interdiction of Indian raiding parties passing through the area.  Army scouts selected a site along Honey Creek on the west side of the Warner Lakes.  In 1866, a detachment from Fort Boise was sent to establish the fort.  The soldiers arrived on the east side of the lakes in late summer.  Unable to cross the chain of lakes and marshes, the soldiers built a winter camp on the east side of the lakes.  The camp was sited poorly and the men had a very difficult winter.  In February 1867, General George Crook visited the Warner Valley outpost.  Crook directed that the camp be moved to the Honey Creek site west of the lakes.  To get the Army’s wagons across the wetlands, Crook ordered the construction of a bridge across the narrow channel between Hart Lake and Crump Lake.  Shortly after the bridge was begun a second detachment was sent ahead to build the new fort.  The Stone Bridge was completed that summer and the soldiers moved into the new camp, which was named Fort Warner.  By 1869, the Indian raids in south-central Oregon had ended and a treaty had been signed.  With no Indian raiders left in the area, Fort Warner was abandoned in 1874.  While nothing remains of Fort Warner, the Stone Bridge the Army built to cross the Warner wetlands still exists.  The bridge is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1865, the United States Congress authorized the construction of the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road from Eugene, Oregon, to Fort Boise in Idaho.  Congress allowed the construction company to claim three sections of land for every mile of road built.  As a result, road surveyors laid out a route designed to pass through as much well-watered, desirable land as possible.  The route of the military road came through the Warner Valley, crossing over the Warner Lakes at the Stone Bridge before passing south of Hart Mountain through what is today the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge and heading east.
In reality, the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road was a venture designed to acquire public lands at little or no cost to the road company’s investors.  Nevertheless, the construction company was able to secure thousands of acres of valuable grazing land in the Warner Valley.  Legal disputes kept the ownership of these lands in question for decades, preventing settlers from claiming land grants for farms and ranches.  Ownership was finally decided by the United States Supreme Court in a case known as the United States versus the California and Oregon Land Company.  Eventually, the land passed into the hands of the Oregon Valley Land Company, which subdivided it into l
Warner Valley