A nearby Texas Historical Marker gives a bit of information about the history of this area:
Site of Galveston County Poor Farm
The Galveston County Commissioners Court began planning in 1886 to purchase a farm to house and care for the county's indigent citizens. A site was chosen and by June 1887 the county bought 213 acres of land on the banks of Clear Creek. The first building constructed was designed by local architect Nicholas J. Clayton and contained a dining hall. Joe Meyers was hired as the first superintendent.
Those housed at the farm included county citizens who were poor, elderly, mentally ill, and convicted of crimes. All physically able residents were required to help with farming chores.
Funding for maintaining the farm was inadequate, and complaints about living conditions were investigated by the county. Portions of the poor farm land were sold to help finance operation of the facility. By 1913, the Commissioners Court closed the site.
The land lay dormant until 1928, when the Galveston County Park was established at the urging of local citizens. A pavilion was constructed in 1929, and the park became the site for recreational activities and social gatherings. The pavilion was refurbished in 1975 and reconstructed in 1994 after a fire. In 1985 the site was named the Walter G. Hall Park. (1997)
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Walter Hall Park is part of the Galveston County Parks & Cultural Services Department
Available Amenities:
Restrooms & Water Fountains
Indoor Banquet Facility
Picnic Pavilions & Gazebo
Picnic Areas
Two Playgrounds
Pier
Boat Ramp
Baseball Field
Practice Backstops
Soccer Field
Tennis Courts
Sand Volleyball Courts
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From the Houston Chronicle
By Dana Burke, Thursday November 25, 2004
Helen, Walter Hall Left Legacy in League City
- Couple Helped Start Numerous Local Institutions
Walter and Helen Hall always remembered that their success depended on the League City community.
"My mother always told us that we owed everything we had to the people in the community," said their son Charles, 61, who lives in Galveston.
Because of their work to improve League City and the surrounding areas, the Halls have many facilities in League City that are named for them — the Helen Hall Library, Walter Hall Park and Pavilion, Walter Hall Elementary School and Helen's Garden, all in League City.
The couple were high-school sweethearts who married in 1927 and lived most of their lives in League City, said Heather Campbell, historian at the Helen Hall Library. Walter Hall began working as a teller in 1937 at the Citizens State Bank in League City, which later moved to Dickinson.
By 1943, he owned controlling interest at the Citizen State Bank and later owned banks in League City, Dickinson, Webster and Alvin.
"My mother used her values in keeping (Walter Hall's) feet on the ground," Charles Hall said. "Every successful man needs a ballast."
In 1937, Helen had decided to work as the postmistress in League City, despite the social stigma attached to working women in that decade. She worked as a commercial bank teller in the 1940s and used her position to form friendships with local business leaders.
"Mama never put herself above the smallest person in the community," Charles Hall said. "Our town was so small that every time a young lady got married, Mama would have a shower for her."
Helen Hall was a charter board member of the League City Library, which opened in 1972. She was active on the board until her death in 1981, after which the library's name was changed to honor her work.
She worked for 40 years with the American Red Cross and was honored by the city of Kemah for providing aid to victims of Hurricane Carla in 1961.
"She was a wonderful woman and did so much for the city," said Grace Lewis, Hall's 95-year-old sister who lives in League City.
Walter Hall, a Democrat who forged relationships with President Lyndon B. Johnson and congressional leader Sam Rayburn, focused much of his attention on local politics, although he never ran for office.
"He believed that the middle class is what makes this country great," Charles Hall said.
Walter Hall was instrumental in creating the area's first water and sewer system, said former League City Mayor Pat Hallisey.
"He always said that water was the heart of civilization," Hallisey said.
Walter Hall is credited with the incorporation of League City and surrounding schools into the Clear Creek Independent School District in 1948, Campbell said.
In 1945, he served as chairman of the Galveston County Postwar Planning Commission.
After his wife's death, Walter Hall purchased land at 701 E. Main to save the live oak trees on the property that were threatened by planned development.
"Walter loved to make things grow," Hallisey said. "He treated those oak trees like they were his children."
After developing the property into a park, Walter Hall named the area Helen's Garden and donated the property to the city.
Walter Hall Park originally was the site of the Galveston County Poor Farm, a facility for people financially unable to take care of themselves.
The elderly, mentally ill, and local convicts also were sent to the poor farm, where those residents who were physically able were required to help with chores.
The land became a park in 1927 and was named after Walter Hall in 1985. The park's pavilion, also named in his honor, was completed in 1994 as a replica of the original pavilion that burned in 1987.
The Halls had three sons: Charles, Sam and Walter Hall Jr. Walter Hall Jr. lives in Pearland and Sam Hall lives in Corpus Christi.
Charles Hall retired in 2003 as chairman of Maxim Bank, which was created when League City Bank and Trust merged with the Citizens State Bank in Dickinson in 2002. Walter Hall owned both banks when he died in 2000.
Charles Hall remembers his father as a man who pushed himself to succeed as a businessman and as a liberal Democrat without compromising his values.
He said he admires his mother because she gained respect from her community by respecting others first.
"I'm extremely proud of both of them," he said.