Restoration Point is a conspicuous ledge on the southern end of Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, about 7 miles (11 km) east-northeast of Bremerton and 7 miles (11 km) west-southwest of Seattle, Washington. The ledge is formed by an ancient wave-eroded platform that was instantaneously uplifted 23 feet (7 m) by an earthquake about 1100 years ago. Decatur Reef is a submerged extension of the point and is named after the USS Decatur, which in turn was named for the naval hero Stephen Decatur. The ledge and the reef are a rock called the Blakeley Formation more than 5,000 feet (1,524 m) thick that formed during the late Oligocene or early Miocene and is composed of siltstone made of volcanic tuff interbedded with thin layers of mudstone and greywacke sandstone that contain fossils. The upper part of the ledge is buried under a layer of sand and shell fragments less than 5 feet (1.5 m) thick.

In 1792, English explorer Captain George Vancouver spent several days with his ship HMS Discovery anchored off Restoration Point while boat parties surveyed other parts of Puget Sound. Vancouver named Restoration Point on May 29, the anniversary of the Stuart Restoration, when King Charles II was restored to the English throne. In December 1855, the U.S. Navy sloop of war USS Decatur was in Puget Sound to provide support for settlers during the Puget Sound War, a conflict with Native tribes that began over land rights. However, Decatur ran aground at Restoration Point on rocks now called Decatur Reef, and had she not righted herself and floated free with the incoming tide, the fate of Seattle might have turned out very differently. In January 1856, an armed conflict called the Battle of Seattle took place between the United States military, local militias, and members of the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Klickitat tribes. The Haida and Tlingit also came into conflict with the United States Navy during contemporaneous raids on other Native peoples of Puget Sound. The conflict ended in 1858 with the controversial execution of Chief Leschi.

Restoration Point was once a nearly level platform of soil and beach grasses. In 1896, the Country Club of Seattle made this into a nine-hole golf course. It was built so that all the holes are aligned with the shoreline between the beach and a bluff on a strip of land that surrounds the Country Club property. The first tournament in the state of Washington is believed to have been played here when Joshia Collins, after visiting Scotland, reputedly brought back some rudimentary golf clubs. Today, the course is not watered so the grass turns brown in summer. Asphalt greens are covered with sand. The bluff was eventually developed with 18 rustic yet stately homes, now mostly owned by fourth-generation descendants of the founders of the development. The golf course and other amenities are owned in common by the 18 families. Read more here and here. Explore more of Restoration Point and Bainbridge Island here: