Legends of Treasure on Padre Island

(Padre Island National Seashore, Texas on the Shores of the Gulf of Mexico encompasses 130,434 acres, and is the longest remaining undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world, and offers a wide variety of flora and fauna as well as recreation.)

In 1519, Spanish explorer Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, believed to be the first white man to set foot on Padre island, called it La Isla Blanca. When Padre Balli claimed the island in 1800, it was known as Isla de Corpus Christi or Isla Santiago. Throughout its history, it has had other names, such as Isla de San Carlos de los Malaguitas and Isla del Brazo de Santiago. The island is named after Padre Jose Nicolas Balli (177?-1829), who served as collector of finances for all the churches in the Rio Grande Valley..

There are many legends and tales of treasure associated with Padre Island On of the earliest of such tales had its beginning in 1521 when numerous galleons laden with treasure and immigrants were blown off course by storms to Padre Island, where they foundered on sand bars and the surf smashed their hulls where the survivors were prey to the hostile environment leaving no living souls. .

In 1553, three ships suffered this fate and were abandoned by 300 passengers who swam to shore. After being stranded for 6 days, they were surrounded by over 100 Indians who showered them with arrows. The castaways fled south to Mexico, but only 2 men of the 300 passengers survived the trip. Ironically, Spanish divers recovered half of the cargo of silver reales. Over the centuries, treasure hunters have found some of the gray coins that now, by law, belong to the state.

When the Civil War engulfed the Island in 1861, the pro-Unionist Singer family buried approximately $62,000 in coins and jewelry before leaving. At the end of the war in 1865, they returned to find that shifting sand had concealed their hiding spot. The coins and jewelry still lie buried in an unmarked sand dune known as Money Hill.

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