Armand Bayou Nature Center
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Entry to the Nature Center
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Archaeological evidence shows that this area was inhabited by Native Americans for 7,000 years. The location was an obvious location for habitation. Natives lived here until the mid-19th century when people of European descent began to move in. Over time, the area became increasingly developed and in the 1960s, NASA built the Manned Spacecraft Center nearby.
However, conservationist Armand Yramategui led the efforts to establish the center, which occurred in 1974. He was seriously concerned with the urban buildup around the bayou, and coordinated well in advance of the program's actual launch to begin pulling the property together. Tragically, Armand away in 1970, but this had the effect of spawning and cementing the collection of the properties that collectively would become the nature center.