It is claimed by the railway operators and tour guides to be the only remaining Confederate powder magazine from the 1860s.

A narrower claim, that it is the only surviving Confederate powder house in Texas and one of few in the U.S., is stated by the Historic Jefferson Foundation.

[2] An even more narrow claim, that it is "the most intact example in East Texas of a Civil War era brick ordnance magazine directly associated with the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate States of America," appears in a planning document prepared by the Texas Historical Commission.

"Ninety percent of the building is original and remains unaltered except for some weathering, aging brick and some sympathetic repairs."

[citation needed] This property is landlocked and the road to the magazine is on private property, today it can only be viewed by riding the Jefferson and Cypress Bayou Railway,[4] or taking the Turning Basin Riverboat Tour, both of which are attractions in Jefferson, Texas.