In the late 1680s, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built a colony dubbed Fort St. Louis in this area. A June 1996 dig at the site that was believed to be the correct location revealed eight French cannon. This led archeologists to excavate the Keeran Ranch site in the area, during 1996–2002; they concluded that the Spanish Presidio La Bahía fort "was built on the La Salle settlement". Some 10 percent of the artifacts recovered are believed to have originated in France. 