| Marker Number |
3908 |
| Atlas Number |
5355003908 |
| Marker Title |
Padre Island and Padre Nicolas Balli |
| Index Entry |
Padre Island and Padre Nicolas Balli |
| Address |
Park Rd. 22 at entrance to Parde Balli Park |
| City |
Corpus Christi |
| County |
Nueces |
| UTM Zone |
14 |
| UTM Easting |
675418 |
| UTM Northing |
3052759 |
| Subject Codes |
geology; religious leaders; Presbyterian denomination; Roman Catholic denomination |
| Marker Year |
1979 |
| Recorded Texas Historic Landmark |
No |
| Marker Location |
Park road 22 at entrance to Padre Balli Park, from Corpus Christi take SH 358 south to Park Road 22. Follow PR22 over JFK causeway to park, about 2 miles past end of causeway |
| Private Property |
No |
| Marker Condition |
In Situ |
| Marker Size |
27" x 42" |
| Marker Text |
First called Corpus Christi Island or Isla Santiago, Padre Island was named for Padre Jose Nicolas Balli (177?-1829). His family migrated from Spain in 1569 and became large landowners in the lower Rio Grande Valley, influential in military and governmental affairs. Ordained about 1790, Padre Balli applied to Spain's King Charles IV in 1800 for 11 1/2 leagues of land on the island. Padre Balli had the land surveyed and in 1804 started the first settlement, Rancho Santa Cruz, about 26 miles from the southern tip. He began the island's first mission for the settlers and to Christianize the Karankawa indians. With help from a nephew, Juan Jose Balli, as "Mayordomo" or Foreman, Padre Balli started ranching, bringing in large herds of cattle, horses, and sheep. Padre Balli served as missionary and the collector of finances for all churches in the Rio Grande Valley. With financial aid from his mother Dona Rosa Maria de Hinojosa, he opened the first mission in present Cameron County and began a church and the first school at present Matamoros, Mexico. Padre Balli's ministry influenced the lives of early settlers in south Texas. He was buried near Matamoros. |
