The Baytown Nature Center was, for many years, a highly desirable residential neighborhood known as Brownwood with nearly 400 substantial homes on a 500-acre (2.0 km2) peninsula.

[2] In 1961, Hurricane Carla devastated the Texas Gulf Coast, flooding most of Brownwood and ending any new development in the area.

A United States District Court had ordered the Task Group to carry out a marsh restoration project to replace natural resources that were damaged or destroyed by members’ illegal dumping activities.

Once work was complete, these channels were used to re-flood the site and provide good crosscurrent flows to encourage natural restoration activity and feed the returning wetlands wildlife.

The channels also provided the necessary tidal exchange (with its nutrient-rich, oxygenated waters) to help create important “edge” habitats for crustaceans, fish, and birds.

In their grading operations, the crews also transformed two elevated areas, which included hundreds of mature trees, into islands and created four new small freshwater ponds.

These freshwater ponds and the planting of cabbage palmettos, live oaks, as well as beneficial bottomland shrubs and trees like red maple and green ash, were designed to lure a wide variety of migrant and indigenous birds, reptiles, and small mammals to the site.

In addition to large oak trees and grass lawns, San Jacinto Point has three fishing piers, an observation platform, a Children's Nature Discovery Area playground, picnic tables, benches, and a concrete walkway along the bay shoreline.

They, along with wood duck boxes and trails, are far enough away from the islands and nesting areas to avoid disturbing the burgeoning wildlife, yet close enough for Baytown residents and visitors to observe nature's beauty and diversity.