The land at Palo Alto had no significant prior settlement or agricultural use; it was open coastal prairie and rangeland north of the Rio Grande, used mainly for grazing, when it became the unplanned setting for the first major battle of the Mexican-American War on May 8, 1846, between U.S. forces under General Zachary Taylor and Mexican forces under General Mariano Arista. The battlefield itself was not built up or developed afterward, and the flat, largely treeless prairie landscape has remained comparatively undisturbed, which is part of why the site retains historical integrity today. Established as a unit of the National Park Service in 1992, the site now functions as a preserved battlefield and public history destination rather than a working or residential property. Its current use centers on public education and commemoration: a visitor center houses exhibits, artifacts, and an interpretive film explaining the battle and the broader war, while paved and unpaved walking trails cross the historic battlefield to overlooks and interpretive markers describing troop positions and the fighting. The park hosts ranger-led talks, living history demonstrations, and periodic battle reenactments and anniversary programs, and it serves as a research and conservation site for the native coastal prairie ecosystem. As the only National Park Service unit in the Rio Grande Valley, Palo Alto functions today as both a memorial landscape and an active visitor and educational facility open to the public year-round.