Fort Crockett Fort Crockett is a government reservation on Galveston Island overlooking the Gulf of Mexico originally built as a defense installation to protect the city and harbor of Galveston and to secure the entrance to Galveston Bay , thus protecting the commercial and industrial ports of Galveston and Houston and the extensive oil refineries in the bay area . The facility is now managed by the US NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service , and hosts the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Laboratory , the Texas Institute of Oceanography , as well as some university facilities . The area still contains several historical buildings and military fortifications . History . A military facility by the US Army Coastal Artillery on Galveston Island was established in the late 1890s . Construction got underway just in time to be disrupted by the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 . The United States Army Corps of Engineers spent several years rebuilding and expanding the reservation before it was re - garrisoned . In 1903 , the facility was named Fort Crockett in honor of David Crockett , US Congressman from Tennessee and famous Texas hero of the Battle of the Alamo . Following extensive repairs and upgrades , the fort was garrisoned by the US Army Coast Artillery Corps in 1911 . During the First World War , Fort Crockett served as a US Army artillery training center . Troops bound for France were trained in the use of several types of artillery . During the 1920s and early 1930s , Fort Crockett housed the United States Army Air Corps ' ( USAAC ) 3rd Attack Group ( an ancestor to USAF ' s 3rd Wing ) . At this time , the 3rd Attack Group was the only USAAC group devoted solely to attack aircraft . In 1932 , Fort Crocket received eleven A - 8 Shrike attack aircraft , the US military ' s very first all - metal monowing combat aircraft . This delivery constituted the first delivery of this aircraft to a forward operational unit . By the mid - 1930s , the 3rd Attack group had relocated to Barksdale , Louisiana . During the Second World War , Fort Crockett was expanded with an additional large gun battery , and focus was placed on defense against German U - boats . Additionally , the Fort served as a prisoner of war camp . Following the war , Fort Crockett served for several years as an army recreational center . In the 1950s , Fort Crockett became home for fisheries research for the US Fish and Wildlife Service . Due to the massive amount of concrete used in constructing the protective casemate for the guns and magazines , Battery Hoskins proved uneconomical to remove . The abandoned casemates remained an unofficial tourist attraction for decades . In the early 1980s , a luxury resort ( the San Luis Resort ) was built on and behind the battery . The massive concrete gun emplacements remain dramatically visible from the seawall highway that runs along Galveston Beach , even though one gun emplacement now sports a swimming pool atop it , and the other gun emplacement is adorned with a wedding gazebo . Defensive facilities of Galveston Bay . During the Texas Revolution , Galveston harbor and the entrance to Galveston Bay was secured by a small fortification located at the north east side of Galveston Island , which corresponds to the west side of Bolivar Roads , the entrance to the bay . This was originally named Fort Travis in honor of William Barret Travis , the commanding officer of the Alamo . In the late 19th century , the entrance to Galveston Bay was secured by two new fortifications , one on each side of the mouth of the bay . The " Fort Travis " name was transferred across Bolivar Roads to a new fortification on Point Bolivar , the tip of the Bolivar Peninsula , which forms the east side of the entrance to the bay . An additional new fortification was built on the north east tip of Galveston Island , and was named Fort San Jacinto in honor of the final battle of the Texas Revolution , which established Texas ' independence from Mexico . At the end of the 19th century , Fort Crockett was established as headquarters for all three facilities . Located west of the city of Galveston , its long - range guns could command the entire area . By the first half of the 20th century , Fort Crockett had the basic equipment believed needed to defend the Galveston area from attack from air or sea . Coastal artillery batteries at Fort Crockett . In the mid - 20th century , two Regiments of the US Army Coast Artillery were headquartered at Fort Crockett , and manned four major artillery batteries , each supporting a different type of artillery . Though installed over several decades , the different guns were selected to provide both long - range and rapid - fire support . Battery Izard contained eight 12 - inch mortars . Battery Wade Hampton contained two 10 - inch " disappearing " guns . Battery Laval contained two guns , and Battery Hoskins contained two guns . These batteries were supported by various fire - control structures , with radar and anti - aircraft guns added in the 1940s . Coastal artillery batteries at Fort San Jacinto . Additional companies of Coast Artillery were stationed at Fort San Jacinto , located on the north - east tip of Galveston Island , commanding the southern portion of the entrance to Galveston Bay . Battery Mercer contained 12 - inch mortars . Battery Heileman contained two 10 - inch " disappearing " guns . Battery Hogan contained two guns , and Battery Croghan contained two guns . Battery # 235 contained guns and another battery contained 90 mm guns . Coastal artillery batteries at Fort Travis . One additional company of Coast Artillery was stationed at Fort Travis , located at Bolivar Point , commanding the northern side of the entrance to Galveston Bay . Battery Kimball contained two guns . Battery Davis contained two guns . Battery Ernst contained two guns . These batteries were supported by various fire - control structures , and radar in the 1940s .