Located in the southeastern part of the state of Texas and a city in Harris County, Bytown sits on Galveston Bay at the mouth of the San Jacinto River which is approximately 22 miles east of Houston. The first settlement in the area started in 1822, and a confederate shipyard was then built at Goose Creek during the American Revolution. Oil wells were discovered in the nearby areas and are being shipped from docks on the Houston Ship Channel at Baytown. Oil refineries, petrochemicals, and synthetic-rubber plants emerged and became the area’s primary economic activities. The Baytown Nature Center was created after Hurricane Alicia destroyed the city’s Brownwood subdivision in 1983.