Early Settlers
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In 1847 a sea captain, John V. Singer, his wife Joanna, and their 7-year-old son Alexander found safety on the island after a shipwreck. There they lived 15 years, eventually obtaining title to some of the padre's rancho and using lumber from the wrecked ship to build dwellings on foundations that remained. Other children were born and the family was profitably engaged in growing vegetables which they sold on the mainland.
Being Union sympathizers, they left their island home at the beginning of the Civil War, first hastily burying a considerable quantity of money and other silver. When Singer returned years later to claim his fortune, the landmarks were gone. The hiding place was never found and, so far as is known, some $80,000 lies hidden under Padre's ever shifting sands. So careless was Singer about the titles to acres he eventually sold that for many years it was impossible to get a clear title to any of the south part of the island.
Around 1880 a colorful rancher, Patrick Dunn of Corpus Christi, moved over on the island to set up a ranch. He acquired title to most of it and through the next half century he had a successful ranching operation on the upper end of Padre, ruling it as a little kingdom and permitting no trespassing. In the early part of the 20th century he sold some of his acreage to the first of several would-be developers for a proposed island beach resort.
