1. Robert Gray's Sea Chest

This chest is believed to have accompanied Captain Robert Gray on the second voyage of the Columbia Rediviva to the Northwest Coast, during which Gray made the first documented exploration of the Columbia River. Gray’s granddaughter, Mary E. Bancroft, sent the chest to Oregon in 1892 to celebrate the centennial of Gray’s exploration. It was subsequently donated to the Oregon Historical Society.

Gray made two voyages to the Northwest Coast between 1787 and 1793. On the first voyage he was second-in-command under John Kendrick, an unpopular captain prone to violent outbursts. In the summer of 1788 Kendrick exchanged ships with Gray, who proceeded to China with the furs they had gathered. He then returned to Boston by way of the Cape of Good Hope, becoming the first American to circumnavigate the globe. Although the first voyage lost money, the owners of the Columbia arranged for a second expedition, hoping to recoup their loss. Gray’s name would go down in history during this second voyage. On May 11, 1792, he made the first documented exploration of the Columbia River, which he named after his ship. The expedition was a financial disappointment, but Gray’s exploration of the Columbia was of great geopolitical consequence. American legislators and diplomats would later use his “discovery” to bolster American claims to the region.