One of Calhoun County's essential springs, called Six Mile Watering Hole, lies within one hundred yards of this place. Although Calhoun County has few springs, their locations have played a part in the history of this land for thousands of years. Flowing chiefly from Beaumont sand and silt formations, these springs served Paleo-Indians, French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle in 1685 on Matagorda Island, Franciscan missionaries near Mission Lake in 1793, New Linnville near the mouth of Linn Bayou after the Linnville raid of 1840, Confederate Fort Esperanza in late 1861, and Union occupation along Chocolate Creek near Johnson Springs in 1865.