OLYMPIA – The design of a Neah Bay monument marking the first European settlement in what is now Washington state will be unveiled Friday at the state Capitol.
The Fort Núñez Gaona-Diah Veterans Park, commemorating the 1792 founding of a Spanish outpost near Cape Flattery, is expected to be completed in August.
Lt. Gov. Brad Owen will be the master of ceremonies at the Olympia ceremony Friday to officially unveil the landmark structure.
The program will start at 3 p.m. in the State Reception Room on the third floor of the domed Legislative Building in Olympia.
Currently under construction on the Makah reservation, the monument is on the site of the old Spanish fort. Among the flags that will fly on the site will be the red and yellow crested banner of Spain.
“This monument will stand as a very important marker not only for the history of our state but for the history of the United States and area tribes,” Owen said Monday.
When finished in August, the structure on waterfront property overlooking Wadah Island in Neah Bay will consist of six large cedar columns and resemble a traditional Makah longhouse.
