| Marker Number |
3909 |
| Atlas Number |
5061003909 |
| Marker Title |
Padre J. Nicolas Balli |
| Index Entry |
Balli, Padre J. Nicolas |
| Address |
|
| City |
Port Isabel |
| County |
Cameron |
| UTM Zone |
14 |
| UTM Easting |
682461 |
| UTM Northing |
2887118 |
| Subject Codes |
Spanish immigrants/immigration; religious leaders; Presbyterian denomination; Roman Catholic denomination |
| Marker Year |
1983 |
| Recorded Texas Historic Landmark |
No |
| Marker Location |
PR 100, east end of causeway (3 miles east of Port Isabel), South Padre Island. |
| Private Property |
No |
| Marker Condition |
In Situ |
| Marker Size |
18" x 28" |
| Marker Text |
Padre Island, off the South Texas coast, is named for Padre Jose Nicolas Balli (177?-1829), whose family migrated from Spain in 1569 and became large landowners in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. In 1800 Balli applied to King Charles IV of Spain for 11 1/2 leagues of land on the island, and in 1804 started its first settlement, Rancho Santa Cruz. Padre Balli served as collector of finances for all the churches in the Rio Grande Valley and founded the first mission in present Cameron County. Padre Balli's ministry was a great influence on the lives of early South Texas settlers. |
