Mexican manuscript maps from 1816, show the location of campomentos by Jean Joseph Amable Humbert and Henry Perry.

In 1818, Dr. James Long led 300 men in an attempt to liberate Spanish Texas.

He established fortifications here in August 1819, known as Fort Las Casas, before proceeding inland.

[2] The federal government purchased 97 acres (39 ha) in 1898 and completed Batteries Ernst and Davis.

This battery contained two six-inch guns within a casement that included a power plant, magazines, fire control, and crew quarters.

[8] The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Galveston County on 30 March 2006.