Tyrrell Park is a 500-acre municipal park, created in 1923 from 1400 acres of land donated by William Casper "Captain W.C." Tyrrell. Adjacent to the park is the other 900 acres of what is now known as Cattail Marsh, a part of the City of Beaumont’s reclaimed Wastewater Treatment plant turned wetlands and a Birding Hot Spot. W.C. Tyrrell established himself in Beaumont as an oil speculator, venture capitalist, prominent businessman and philanthropist who moved to Beaumont because of the Spindletop Oil Boom of 1901. Among other things Captain Tyrrell holds the distinction of being the first man to bring a steamship to the port of Beaumont in 1910. Tyrrell Park’s infrastructure was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Beaumont Company #845 from 1935-1941, in which the CCC built drainage ditches, the park entrance way, the roads, the golf course, horse stables, nature trails, picnic tables and recreation buildings. In the past, the park has been everything from a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp to an instrumental locale during the Civil Rights movement; Today Tyrrell Park is a multi-use space and is home to different recreational areas and outdoor activities.
