Sunday Trivia Answered! Padre Island is most commonly known for its wonderful beaches, fishing and boating opportunities, and let’s not forget the great views! But there is a treasure on the island you may not have realized: the Novillo Line Camp. By the early 1900s much of the island was owned or controlled by Patrick Dunn. Dunn was known as the “Duke of Padre Island” as he was the island’s most successful cattle rancher. Being surrounded by water on all sides Padre Island was an ideal location for cattle grazing. Dunn and his men built line camps every 15 miles as this was distance cattle could be moved in a single day. These camps offered a rest stop for the cowboys, or “vaqueros”, and a corral used for branding and vaccinations. Line camps were built in the 1880s by using materials washed ashore and wood from shipwrecks. Today park staff continue to use the same historic methods for maintaining the camp. What do you think life on Padre Island might have been like as a cattle rancher? -CB
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 22:13:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015