The Museum of the Coastal Bend displays the last 13,000 years of Texas history, from the earliest known inhabitants of the Coastal Bend region through the French, Spanish, and Mexican colonial efforts, up to the range of diverse influences that have created the modern Texan culture. Archaeological and historic collections tell this story through exhibits of stone, bone and shell tools; cannons from the La Salle Expedition; artifacts recovered La Salle’s ship “La Belle”; and Native American, French and Spanish artifacts from the Fort St. Louis/Presidio La Bahia site.