Quintana, an island located between the mouth of the Old Brazos River and the New Brazos River on the Gulf Coast, is a colorful blend of the past and present in a relaxing atmosphere.
A historical marker records Quintana’s history to 1528 when Spanish survivors of the Narvaez Expedition, a search party looking for Montezuma’s gold, were adrift and dying of thirst when they noticed a current of water flowing into the Gulf. The men followed the current to the mouth of the river, calling it Los Brazos de Dios, the Arms of God, thus naming the Brazos River.
Quintana was a major seaport for Stephen F. Austin’s 300 Colony and the site of a Confederate fort during the Civil War. The coastline of Brazoria County was virtually wiped clean from the Great Hurricane of 1900 so most of the families living at Quintana moved farther inland.
The Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary is recognized among bird enthusiasts from across the country as an ideal place to bird watch. On certain fallout days every bush along the trails is full of migrants.
Over the years, Quintana has won several awards for its beautification achievements through Keep Texas Beautiful. Quintana’s recycling efforts were noted in a video by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commision as being “the smallest town in Texas to curbside recycle.”