Colonel Samuel Arthur Robertson, with the backing of some Kansas City capitalists, built the first causeway to the island – the Don Patricio Causeway, which connected Flour Bluff to the island. It was named for the rancher, Pat Dunn. This wooden causeway was three miles long, cost $95,000, had a drawbridge in the center for fishing boats. Cars crossed on rough wooden troughs. A round-trip crossing cost $3. The double-track causeway, built on piers, opened on July 4, 1927. It was destroyed by a hurricane in 1933. This photo is of a mid 20s Packard with a 1930 Texas license plate crossing the causeway.
