Grays River (Washington) - History

History

In 1841 Charles Wilkes of the United States Exploring Expedition charted the river, calling it "Ebokwol". In 1853 it was given another Indian name, "Moolhool", the name used by the Chinookan-speaking natives of the area.

The American fur trader Robert Gray, captain of the Columbia Rediviva, entered the mouth of the Columbia River in May 1792. Gray and his crew were the first non-indigenous people to do so. After a few days of exploring and trading the Columbia Rediviva ran aground briefly on a sandbar in what is now known as Grays Bay. A boat scouted ahead and determined that the channel Gray they been following on the north side of the Columbia quickly became unnavigable. Gray decided not to venture farther upriver, instead anchoring in Grays Bay for several days, trading and refitting the ship. Gray went ashore and later made a chart of Grays Bay and the mouth of Grays River. A copy of the chart was given to George Vancouver. In October 1792 Vancouver's lieutenant, William Broughton entered and explored the Columbia River. It was Broughton, who had a copy of Gray's chart, who named Grays Bay and Grays River after Robert Gray.

At the community of Grays River it is crossed by the Grays River Covered Bridge. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the only covered bridge still in use in Washington.