The Russian American Company schooner Sv. Nikolai ran aground in November 1808 a few miles north of the Quileute village of LaPush on the northwest coast of the Olympic Peninsula. The crew of the Sv. Nikolai were on a voyage of exploration in anticipation of starting a Russian American Company settlement in the area. Instead, the shipwreck of the Hawaii-built, 45-foot ship became the catalyst for an epic adventure. This landmark event intertwined the destinies of the nation of Russia and its Russian American Company colony in Sitka with the Quileute, Hoh, Quinault and Hoh Pacific Coast tribes, and the Kingdom of Hawaii and its ruler Kamehameha, as well as changing the course of the history of what would become Washington State.

Today a monument to this historic chapter in Pacific Northwest history is being developed with construction planned in the near future.