in 1908, a granite celtic cross with a bas-relief portrait of junípero serra sculpted by douglas tilden was erected near the original site of the tree by the art collector james a. murray and is now a california historical landmark. murray, who had made his fortune in the montana mining industry, settled in monterey in 1904. he took a keen interest in monterey's history and owned one of the three paintings by léon trousset depicting junípero serra's first mass beneath the oak tree. murray's wife commissioned "the passing of an oak", a poem by mary sullivan spence commemorating the tree. it was published in a limited edition in 1909.