One of the first white men to actually lay claim to the island was a Catholic priest, Padre Nicolás Balli, who obtained sovereign right to it from the Spanish crown about 1800. He came to Padre to convert the Indians to Christianity. Father Balli then established a mission and ranch near the center of the island, calling his settlement “Rancho Santa Cruz.” In 1827, to substantiate Father Balli’s claim, the island was surveyed with braided rawhide cords. Padre Island became his namesake. Earlier the island had been called Isla Blanca (White Island), although the northern end was also called Isla de Corpus Christi, and the southern end San Carlos de las Malaguitas. The good Father, unfortunately, had little luck in converting the Indians. The last of the family to which Padre Balli belonged left the island in 1844.
For three years the island remained deserted, until still another episode in its colorful history unfolded with the wrecking of the three-masted schooner of the illustrious Singer family, of sewing machine fame. Captain of the ship was John Singer, brother of the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. John Singer then built a house, brought cattle from the mainland, and raised a family at Rancho Santa Cruz, the same site used earlier by Father Balli. It is interesting to note that here, on Padre Island, was used the first sewing machine in Texas, for Singer’s wife was sent one as a gift from her husband’s brother. John Singer reigned over the Rancho Santa Cruz village and cattle ranch until the Civil War, when, because of his Unionist sympathies, Singer was forced to leave.
The United States flag appeared over the island when Captain Ben McCulloch of the Texas Rangers galloped down the interminable beach. Often in the course of history Padre’s sands have felt the footsteps of soldiers, for wars have figured generously in her past. Padre’s hard sandy beach road served perfectly for the movement of troops. General Zachary Taylor’s troops marched down the long slender isle and used it as a camping ground during the United States-Mexican War in 1846, as later did the Federal troops during the Civil War. General Sheridan blew apart the Singer Ranch on his way to give impetus to the French withdrawal from Mexico. As the Imperialists left Mexico, Carlotta’s faithful Belgians sought refuge here on the island.
One of the most colorful figures to appear on the scene at Padre was the self-styled “Duke of Padre Island,” Patrick F. Dunn (Don Patricio, as his bronzed cowpokes called him). Beginning in 1879 he raised cattle on his leased, sprawling dunes and the sandy beach until well into the 1900’s. Out of valuable mahogany which floated ashore, he built his famous cowpens, which are still standing, forty miles down the island, and used yet at roundup time. For his ranch headquarters he used salvaged material from shipwrecks. Steamer refrigerator hinges served as his door hinges, and his chairs were from wrecked steamers.
The southern part of the island was finally acquired through the doggedness of devoted Texan John L. Tompkins, who travelled throughout the United States securing titles from stockholders of a defunct corporation. Tompkins learned that title to the turbulent historical island had even changed hands in high-stake poker games.
Like a shimmering mirror, Padre Island has reflected its own flamboyant growth, from savages and cavaliers, buccaneers and privateers, priests and soldiers, to a rapidly growing resort and recreational area.
Glittering Graveyard
Lying under the warm sands of Padre Island, and beneath the waters of her coastline, lies the testimony of the island’s turbulent dwellers. Beachcombers still frequently uncover these evidences. Relics of past civilizations have been laid bare by Gulf storms.
Dispatched to Spain by Cortez of Mexico in the summer of 1553, a fleet of twenty treasure ships, laden with gold, silver and gems stolen from Aztec shrines, sailed from Vera Cruz, Mexico, with about two thousand persons aboard. Among them were those mentioned earlier in the ill-fated “Flight of the Three Hundred.” The ships sailed head-on into a hurricane off the Bahamas. Three were sunk, several were able to skirt the storm, but thirteen of the vessels, with approximately three hundred aboard, fled to the west and went aground on Padre Island. Most of the passengers made it safely to the beach, only to be met by the ferocious Karankawas. Without supplies, they fled southward, hoping to safely reach Tampico, Mexico. For awhile they were able to buy their lives and much needed time by bribing the savages with their beautiful garments. Unhappily, however, many met death from arrows, starvation or illness. Only a few survivors reached Port Isabel, and only one person, a priest, reached Tampico. Another survivor, Francisco Vasquez, sustained himself after discovering that fresh water could be found on Padre by digging only a shallow hole in the island sand. Vasquez directed a salvage fleet of Yucatecan Indian divers to the site of the wrecks some months later. All but one ship was found, and it was known to be loaded with Spanish doubloons and bars of gold.