The site preserves the location of Fort Griffin, a small earthwork fortification the Confederacy built and manned to guard Sabine Pass, the narrow waterway connecting Sabine Lake to the Gulf of Mexico, against Union naval attack. Its function was purely defensive and military: a modest garrison under Lieutenant Richard Dick Dowling used the fort's cannon to control the channel, and on September 8, 1863, that small force repelled a much larger Union invasion fleet attempting to land troops for an assault on Texas, a lopsided Confederate victory that kept the pass and much of Texas out of Union hands for the rest of the war. The earthworks themselves were not permanently occupied or built upon after the war, and the surrounding area remained sparsely used marshland and coastal terrain. Today the site functions as a small state historic park administered as part of the Texas Historical Commission's state historic sites system, preserving the battlefield ground rather than any standing fort structure, since the original earthworks have largely eroded or been altered by later dredging and development of the ship channel. The park's present-day use is commemorative and recreational: it features a large monument and statue honoring Dowling and his men, interpretive and historical markers explaining the battle, picnic areas, and fishing access along the water, drawing visitors for both historical tourism and casual outdoor recreation rather than any residential, agricultural, or military purpose.