South Padre Island Points of Interest

The following stories and points of interests were taken from local treasure hunting books and word of mouth. Please be aware of beach rules and stay off private property. If you must walk behind the dunes, be sure that you are doing so on US Fish & Wildlife property. Also, be careful of snakes, coyotes and quicksand, but most importantly, please respect the landscape and DO NOT LITTER.

The Singer Ranch – In 1847 a family shipwrecked off the coast of Padre Island and built a ranch near the modern day Cameron/Willacy County borderline. They operated a cattle operation and also managed a successful shipwreck salvaging business. They built up quite a fortune, and during the outbreak of the Civil War, decided to bury most of their money in large stone jars beneath sand dunes near the ranch that was never recovered by the Singers due to a Hurricane. In the 1950s, a man claimed to have found the ranch and reported finding some coins. Has anyone ever found the treasure? If they have, no one is telling. But if it still lies beneath the sands of Padre, these are the directions the man gave a Dallas reporter: “Start at the southern most tip of the island. Drive exactly 26 miles up the beach. At that point (approximately at the Cameron-Willacy County Line) walk about 200 yards back into the dunes. Maybe you will see the foundations of the old buildings, or perhaps you will follow the posts of the old fence line, but regardless, this is the starting point in your hunt. Good luck.”……

Spanish Galleon Treasure – In 1554, four Spanish ships, laden with thousands of pounds of silver and minerals mined from the mountains of Mexico , sailed from Vera Cruz to Spain hoping to cash in on the riches of the New World . During their journey, a powerful tropical depression swayed them off coast, causing three of the four ships to ram and sink helplessly off the Padre Island coastline. Thought to range around 50 million dollars in today's market, half of the silver and coins from the ships have never been found (the other half was salvaged by the Spanish on a rescue trip). During your drive on the island, you will reach a northern-most point that is split by a boat channel (Port Mansfield cut) and you will no longer be able to proceed any further. This is the point where the ships are said to have been shipwrecked, and while two have been found during the dredging of that channel in 1954, the third one still is unknown. Every once in a while, lucky beachcombers stumble upon silver coins washed up from the sea….

Mexican Gunship – There is a Mexican/American War gunship on the Western side of Padre Island facing the Laguna Madre. I do not know specifically where it is located, but other beachcombers claim it's near the boat channel. Sorry I do not know more…

WWII Campsite(s) – During the German U-boat scare of the early 1940s, the US Coast Guard set up several camp sites on the Island to patrol and watch the coastline. A 1943 Paramount Pictures movie starring Robert Mitchum shows a few of these campsites in action as they were filmed on the actual Padre Island location, but it is hard to pinpoint their exact locations. However, a veteran from the campsite claims that it is six miles north of the end of Highway 100. I did a recent trip there and found several wooden planks and ammo shells that date back to this time period. To find this location, first look for the sunken shrimp boat off the coast to your right, line it up with your vehicle, and then turn LEFT facing West and you will see a white pole behind a few dunes. Since no cars are allowed behind the dunes, you will have to walk the trail.

WWII aircraft – A WWII aircraft can be reportedly seen buried in the sand only on low tide on the Bay side near the WWII campsite mentioned above. However, it is more than 2 miles into the Western portion of the Island and no cars are allowed. I tried walking it but quickly gave up. There are coyotes in this area and the terrain can be difficult, especially with various spots of quicksand. I have never seen the plane, but a man on horseback claims that as of June, he saw the engine and prop sticking out of the ground. Interestingly, he noticed that the engine was behind the pilot (a P39 airacobra?) and could have been a training bird from the local air base in 1943. There is a military report of two crash landing within the area. Just a few miles north of this spot, a P47 Thunderbolt fighter fatally crashed during a training mission. No pieces have been found, but a military document shows photographs of the crash site near Green Island , a famous fishing spot.

More “points” coming soon…

Do you have point or description of a place on Padre Island that is interesting?
Send it in and I'll post it up!