Right along the coast in Port Isabel sits an attraction that’s been there for over 150 years.

The Port Isabel Lighthouse is one of just about three dozen historical sites that tourists pay to visit. Among those visiting tourists was Dr. Ed Lengel, the new executive director of the Texas Historical Commission.

Lengel is now tasked with overseeing those main attractions like the lighthouse, and the thousands of historical markers across the state.

During his visit to the Rio Grande Valley, Lengel also visited the Harlingen Marine Academy and Palmito Ranch Battlefield — the site of the often forgotten last battle of the Civil War.

Palmito Ranch is near the SpaceX Boca Chica facility, where the company's footprint and traffic continues growing.

Lengel says growth like that near historical sites is keeping the historical commission busy.

“We have sites that are right next to big LNG terminals, we have sites that are right next to oil refineries, we have sites that are in urban areas that are undergoing massive construction projects and all the rest, and each one of those has an impact,” Lengel said. 

Lengel said part of his focus will be to potentially expand the Texas Historical Commission's footprint at Palmito Ranch.

The commission is also looking into recovering historic wooden shipwrecks along the coast, and expand education to keep them whole.

READ MORE: Remains of 150-year-old shipwreck emerge from the sand at Boca Chica Beach

“People come in, and they loot and they plunder,” Lengel said. “In marine archaeology, that's a big problem. We need to make sure that when these wrecks are identified, that we can protect that knowledge… we're just scratching the surface to people realizing that there's a lot more to Texas history."