Boca Chica State Park is a Texas state park located in the Boca Chica Subdelta of the Rio Grande

Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

 near Brownsville

Brownsville, Texas

Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...

 in southeastern Cameron County

Cameron County, Texas

Cameron County is the southernmost county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 406,220. Its county seat is Brownsville. Cameron was founded in 1848...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The park was acquired and opened in May 1994.

History

The area was granted by the State of Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...

 to Ygnacio Trevino on January 24, 1829, as part of the Potrero de San Martin Grant. (Brazos Island

Brazos Island

Brazos Island is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States, south of the town of South Padre Island.-History:The island is also known as Brazos Santiago Island, a reference to the port of Brazos Santiago, the first Spanish settlement on the island. Later it became the Port...

 was granted separately and earlier by the King of Spain.) A road was built down Brazos Island, across Boca Chica Bay to the Rio Grande in 1846. To cross Boca Chica Bay, General Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...

 built a floating bridge to transport military supplies. Some of the cypress

Taxodium mucronatum

Taxodium mucronatum, also known as Montezuma Cypress, Sabino, or Ahuehuete is a species of Taxodium native to much of Mexico , and also the Rio Grande Valley in southernmost Texas, USA as well as Huehuetenango Department in Guatemala...

 pilings

Deep foundation

A deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...

 still stand north of a monument.

In 1846, General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 crossed here returning from the fighting in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. In 1847, Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

 crossed the tract similarly several times. On September 6, 1864, Colonel H. M. Day and troops marched from Brazos Santiago across Boca Chica Bay to White's Ranch, opposite Burrito (Tamaulipas), attacked Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 forces under Captain Richard Taylor

Richard Taylor (general)

Richard Taylor was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was the son of United States President Zachary Taylor and First Lady Margaret Taylor.-Early life:...

 and forced their retreat to Brownsville. On September 9, Lieutenant Daniel Showalter

Daniel Showalter

Daniel Showalter , was California miner, state legislator, duelist, secessionist, soldier for the Confederate States of America in Texas.-Biography:...

 attacked federal forces at Palmito Hill

Palmito Ranch Battlefield

The Palmito Ranch Battlefield preserves the location of the last major battle of the American Civil War. Fought near Brownsville, Texas, the Battle of Palmito Ranch was a victory for the Confederacy. Today the area is relatively unchanged and the marshy, windswept prairies are almost the same as...

. Colonel Day and a Mexican force drove them back again to Brownsville. On May 11, 1865, 300 Union soldiers marched down Brazos Island, across Boca Chica Bay, and attacked White's ranch the next morning. Confederate forces counterattacked at Palmito Hill

Battle of Palmito Ranch

The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill and the Battle of Palmetto Ranch, was fought on May 12–13, 1865, during the American Civil War. It was the last major clash of arms in the war...

 and the federal troops were driven back to Boca Chica Bay. The Battle at Palmito Hill was the last of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Activities

Activities permitted on the adjacent Del Mar and Boca Chica Beach include picnicking, wading, swimming, birding, natural history observation, camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

, fishing (with a license), and surfing

Surfing

Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...

. All are subject to disruption by offshore storms at any season and from June through November by tropical storms and hurricanes.