Overlooking the old California Emigrant Trail, Valmy was named after the Battle of Valmy in France. Established in 1910 by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company as a section point, Valmy served during the steam era as a water and fuel stop for the railroad.

Treaty Hill to the northwest marks a division point between the Paiute lands to the west and Shoshone lands to the east. For generations the scene of battles over two springs, Treaty Hill marks the site where peace was wrought by compromise, when two chiefs sat down and divided springs and territory between the warring tribes.

The first post office here was established as Stonehouse on November 26, 1890. The name was changed to Valmy March 24, 1915.