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Let’s start the
tale of South Padre Island back in the 1500s. In 1519 Alonso de Pineda was sent
by the Spanish government to chart the wild and unknown Texas coast. When he
spied the southern portion of the long narrow barrier island that ran the length
of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico he marked it on his charts as the Isla Blanca
(White Island). This was the first recorded history of the 34+ miles of sandy
beach today known as South Padre Island. Back then it was inhabited in the
summers by the native Karankawa, a tall and muscular people considered to be
related to the fierce Caribs of the Caribbean Islands, but empty of human
presence in the winters.
South Padre
Island was also the site of one of the earliest salvage operations in the New
World when three ships were blown ashore in 1554 by a terrible storm. Fray
Marcos de Mena, the lone survivor of the long walk back to Vera Cruz, carried
the tale back home and Spanish divers returned to salvage almost half of the
silver treasure aboard the sunken vessels. But they didn’t find it all and to
this day it still washes ashore. Some 150 years later Jean Laffite ranged the
island during his pirate days. He sought supplies for his ship there and the
rumor persists that he buried his treasure on the island, too.
Padre Jose
Nicolas Balli established the first permanent settlement in the form of the
Rancho Santa Cruz in 1804. The mission included a large cattle and horse
operation and was run by the good padre and later, after his death, by his
nephew Juan Jose Balli. Although the Rancho eventually was lost for a time and
so became known as the Lost City of Padre Island, Padre Balli’s influence
remains. He lent his name to the island and Balli descendents still live in the
nearby Rio Grande Valley on the Texas mainland.
After Texas
obtained its independence from Mexico the next settlers to arrive were John
Singer and wife number two, Johanna, who were shipwrecked on the island. A bit
of a scoundrel John Singer left wife number one back home in Illinois with the
children. He also lent his brother Isaac money to help him get his sewing
machine business started but Isaac was a bigger scoundrel than John and never
repaid him. While living on the island John reputedly found a marvelous treasure
of gold and jewels, possibly belonging to Jean Lafitte. Unfortunately, Singer
himself reburied the treasure chest in a sand dune for safety before fleeing the
Civil War battles in 1861. When he returned the shifting sands had hidden the
spot and it has never been seen since although many have looked.
Settlement on
the island continued sporadically throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. South
Padre Island was a popular fishing spot and drew locals by the scores and even
such notables as President Harding. But it wasn’t until 1974 that development
began to proceed at a rapid pace. This was when the Queen Isabella Causeway
opened to traffic and made the island accessible to everyone. At two and a half
miles in length it is the longest bridge in Texas, leading residents and
tourists from Port Isabel across the Laguna Madre to the resort town of South
Padre Island. Today, South Padre Island is a resort town with beautiful hotels,
multi-story condominiums facing the sea, restaurants, bars, and what seems to be
hundreds of tee-shirt shops. It is also the site of Schitterbahn Beach Waterpark,
opened in 2001 as the first branch of the popular New Braunsfels attraction
outside its home town. Although the number of permanent residents is relatively
small, estimated to be only 2,704 in 2006, the population swells in winter with
Northerners seeking an escape from icy weather. It grows again in spring and
summer when college students and tourists from the US and Mexico flock to enjoy
what Dr Stephen Leatherman of Florida International University, otherwise known
as “Dr. Beach,” places in the top three Best Wild Beaches in the United States.
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