It was named after Lt. Col. Charles McDermit,[6][7] commander of the Military District of Nevada, who was killed by Native Americans in a skirmish in the area in 1865.

The stage road was the military's most important transportation route in southeast Oregon.

[2] McDermitt is in the Oregon High Desert with a desert climate (Köppen climate classification BSk), averaging 9.2 inches (230 mm) of rain annually with hot, dry summers and cold winters.

[10][11] The McDermitt area boasts the longest climatic record in Nevada, with data beginning in 1866.

[19] Current development activities that may result in renewed mining are at Cordero (gold and silver),[16] Cordero (gallium),[20] Buckskin-National (gold-silver),[21] Aurora (uranium)[22] and Disaster Peak (gold).

The state line goes through the White Horse Inn, a historical landmark now being restored, which was a saloon, hotel, and (reportedly) brothel.

[24] When it was open, food could be ordered and paid for in Oregon, avoiding the Nevada state sales tax.

The Oregon side is zoned to McDermitt School District 51,[26] a school district, governed by a board of directors, which sends all of its students to McDermitt Combined in Nevada and which does not have any employees.

[30] The section of Malheur County in which McDermitt, Oregon is located in is not in any community college district.