John Singer Treasure

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Ahoy! Thar be treaaye here. South Padre Island is home to many tales of treasure found and lost. The money hill of John Singer is one of the most famous. He was a wealthy SPI rancher raising cattle who owned a substantial portion of the island during the mid 1800s. The story is told that in order to hide it, when the civil war broke out he buried a major cache of loot in a sand dune that was marked by two trees. When the war was over, he returned to the island but soldiers and a hurricane had destroyed his home and all landmarks. Over the following years, he made several search attempts to locate it but was never able to find his stash. No one has ever laid claim to it since.

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Upon researching the story of John Singer, history shows that he was a Port Isabel merchant trader that came to live on the island after being shipwrecked there and establishing his new home upon the ruins of the old Santa Cruz Ranch; the orginal settlement of the island’s 1st western inhabitant none other than Padre Balli himself from whom the island received its name.

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Being so long ago, there is no exact information and few maps from this time period exist. Most of what is written comes from word of mouth legend. But there is one survey map of the Laguna Madre from 1879 that has the exact location of the Santa Cruz ranch marked.

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Taking this map and super-imposing it upon modern satellite imagery and aligning the latitude and longitude marks, a precise location can be found on the modern island. Even though the topography and features have changed with time, the map is still surprisingly accurate to what is found in the area today.

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The area of the island where this is located is extremely remote and isolated. It’s a slow difficult journey many miles north up the beach far past any type of civilization. 4-wheel drive is definitely recommended or be prepared for when you will get stuck. A GPS will get you to the precise coordinates. The area is easy to recognize from the landmarks. It’s right before the county line that is currently marked by a big nude beach sign.

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Once at the lost city Santa Cruz site, there’s nothing but a good hat between you, the hot sand, and the blazing sun. South Padre is wide at this point and the area is a vast expanse of island wilderness. Trekking inland from the beach through this hostile environment with its rough terrain is extreme hiking. The bugs are fierce and the heat is brutal. Bring plenty of water in a comfortable back pack.

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