In 1941, the United States Government purchased most of the Double O Ranch property and added it to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Early inhabitants received abundant food from the birds, animals, and plants found in the wetland around the lake.

Due to extended droughts beginning about 1,400 years ago, the lake and surrounding wetlands began to shrink.

By the time Europeans began to explore the area in the early nineteenth century, the Northern Paiute people were well established in the Harney Basin.

Major Enoch Steen was the first non-native to explore the Donner und Blitzen River area south of Harney Lake in 1860.

On 23 October 1878, the only pitched battle of that war occurred near Silver Creek on the northern edge of the Double-O Ranch.

Over time, Hanley turned it into one of the county's largest cattle ranches, and a showplace for his personal guests who wanted to enjoy the privacy and open space of southeastern Oregon.

It only covered 6,700 acres (27 km2), but it was widely regarded as one of the finest ranch estates in the western United States.

[8][10] During the time he was building his ranch empire, Hanley knew the other powerful eastern Oregon cattle barons well.

His peers included Peter French, who owned of the vast P Ranch; John Devine, founder of the White Horse Ranch; and Henry Miller, head of the Miller and Lux Company that controlled over 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2) of land in California, Oregon, and Nevada.

Hanley also played host to well-known writer CES Wood, poet Edwin Markham,[8][11][15] painter Childe Hassam,[16] sculptor Alexander Phimister Proctor,[17] and humorist Will Rogers.

[11] In 1914, he ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate as a progressive Bull Moose Party candidate.

[3] In 1941, the United States Government purchased 14,751 acres (59.70 km2) of Double-O Ranch land from the Hanley family for $118,000, adding it to the adjacent Malheur wildlife refuge to preserve shorebird habitat and protect critical waterfowl nesting areas.

[3][18] The Double-O Ranch included the lower Silver Creek drainage and several lakes that provided water to irrigate the property.

The ranch's riparian areas, lake shore wetlands, and grassy meadows provided habitat for migratory birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway.

A number of natural warm springs made the lakes a winter haven for non-migratory birds as well.

Numerous birds including wild swans, Canada geese, great white egrets, herons, pelicans, and many duck species nested on the Double-O Ranch.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service added three non-historic building in the 1950s to support refuge operation.

In 1982, when the historic district was created, the cabin was in good condition, but the blacksmith's shop was partially collapsed.

[4] The Double-O Ranch Historic District is located within the boundaries of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon.

By 1998 the school was connected to the internet via a fiber optic line after the students asked Governor of Oregon John Kitzhaber for help.