In the late 1680s, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built a colony dubbed Fort St. Louis in this area.

Although fishing has declined in recent years due to fears of contamination, the bay supports a large finfish population, and the efforts of environmental organizations and the federal government have pressured Alcoa to reduce the polluted areas.

[1] The first sizable human settlement on the bay shore was at the town of New Port, established in 1831 by Irish merchant John J. Linn as part of De León's colony.

Across the mouth on the western shore, past the Matagorda Ship Channel, which runs through the middle of the bay to Point Comfort, the town of Magnolia Beach is found.

[11] Lavaca Bay hosts a wide range of finfish including Black drum, Flounder, Redfish, Sheepshead and Speckled trout,[3] however it suffers from mercury pollution.

An Alcoa plant in Point Comfort dumped an estimated 67 pounds (30 kg) of mercury into the bay per day in the 1960s, affecting 64 square miles (170 km2).

[15] The pollution issue is a main concern of citizens of Calhoun County, and has attracted demonstrations against industry in Point Comfort.

[16] However, Alcoa has worked with state and federal officials, spending $110 million to reduce the size of the superfund site, as part of a 2005 settlement.

The stigma attached to the bay due to reports of pollution has discouraged fishing, enabling a healthy population to develop.

Point Comfort is home to several industrial plants along the shore, including Alcoa, Union Carbide, DuPont, and Formosa Plastics Corp.

[5] Today, shrimping is only allowed south of the Port Lavaca Causeway, due to the north's classification as a nursery location.

However this pier is now memorialized by its remains, posts, and small platforms no longer accessible from the shore stand alongside the modern causeway.