According to legend, Capt. Robert Gray was guided into Grays Harbor on May 7, 1792, by a single tall Coastal Spruce on the horizon at what is now called Damon Point.

The DAR’s Robert Gray Chapter in Hoquiam originally created and placed the Lone Tree Marker to commemorate the occasion on May 7, 1911. Members of that chapter were joined at the Coastal Interpretive Center for the dedication of the restored and relocated plaque on May 7, 2018, by members of five other Western Washington DAR chapters and two SAR chapters. The Robert Gray Chapter also has an extensive display detailing the history of the Lone Tree marker and the discovery of Grays Harbor, through June at the Aberdeen Public Library, 121 E. Market Street in downtown Aberdeen.

In 1911, the Robert Gray Chapter created and dedicated the “Lone Tree Marker” near the spruce that guided Gray and later mariners. The plaque reads: “Tradition links this tree with the name of Captain Robert Gray who on May 7th 1792 entered this Harbor in his ship Columbia. This tablet was erected in his honor by the Robert Gray Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution May 7th, 1911. The site was donated by Mr. A. O. Damon.”

The original spruce was destroyed by a storm in the 1930s and the original bolder on which the plaque was mounted was later lost to the sea due to erosion. The plaque was rescued, remounted and twice moved to new locations, most recently near the Ocean Shores Community Club.

During the summer of 2017, members of Robert Gray Chapter cleaned the monument and arranged for its movement to a new destination at the Ocean Shores Coastal Interpretive Center where it will be more easily viewed.