I may have found the Singer Ranch or whats left of it.

[jlv956]

I know this story and I have often dreamed of finding the treasure. Recently Hurricane Ike created a huge storm surge that washed over the Island. I figured this would be the best time to go looking for the Singer ranch. I was lucky enough to have a cousin with an airplane so we took off from Brownsville and surveyed the Island to make sure we could drive up the beach. I attached some pictures I took from the air. We flew over the jetties at SPI and marked our position with the GPS. We then began our route straight north. I did see several old boats in the dunes and the beaches were surprisingly clean. I marked a spot at exactly 26 miles from the jetties at SPI. We than flew back to Brownsville and jumped in the 4 X 4. On our way up the Island I stopped at several places of interest but at the time the only detector I had was a Ace 250 (Which sucks on the wet beach). We ended up at the Mansfield pass without really finding much other than some neat shells and a few sand dollars. On the way back the tide was going out and at exactly 24.6 miles from the SPI Jetties we found what I believe is the remains of the singer ranch. I discovered several wooden poles pounded into the clay. One of the poles had a large hand forged Spike or nail imbedded in it. I removed it and could tell it was old. The configuration of the poles did not look like a ship or a boat it seemed more like a pier and beam configuration. The interesting this is that according to the Garmin GPS the spot we were standing at did not show to be in the surf. In fact the GPS indicated I was 250 yards from the surf. I marked it with the GPS, but the Island lost allot of beach and I believe this spot is probably well under water by now.

 

[tapoutking]

excuse my ignorance but what is Singer Ranch?

 

[jlv956]

Here is more info on the Singer ranch

The Singer Ranch – In 1847 a family shipwrecked off the coast of Padre Island and built a ranch near the modern day Cameron/Willacy County borderline. They operated a cattle operation and also managed a successful shipwreck salvaging business. They built up quite a fortune, and during the outbreak of the Civil War, decided to bury most of their money in large stone jars beneath sand dunes near the ranch that was never recovered by the Singers due to a Hurricane. In the 1950s, a man claimed to have found the ranch and reported finding some coins. Has anyone ever found the treasure? If they have, no one is telling. But if it still lies beneath the sands of Padre, these are the directions the man gave a Dallas reporter: “Start at the southern most tip of the island. Drive exactly 26 miles up the beach. At that point (approximately at the Cameron-Willacy County Line) walk about 200 yards back into the dunes.

 

[pookie-princess of rust]

that sounds cool. nice aerial photos.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

One day in 1861, rancher John Singer ( of the sewing machine family) buried about $100,000 in cash along with some family jewels in a fruit jar under a tree on his ranch. He buried it so that it wouldn't fall into Confederate hands as he headed north where his sympathies were. After the war; he returned to find that his ranch and tree were obliterated by a hurricane. The jar has never been found..............

 

[Old Fart in TN]

Nice pictures hope you get the chance to go back and hunt for it again. I sure do miss Texas and her coast.

 

[ecastro111]

Awesome little adventure, jlv956! Talk about being thorough. I'm also from Brownsville and I drove out to the "Lost City" late one night and camped out with my wife. The next morning I attempted to move the 4Runner closer to shore and ended up getting stuck. Needless say I spent the rest of the morning digging myself out several times (even adjusting tire pressure to 14 psi). We almost got swamped when the tide was coming in. I didn't even get to metal detect It was a real nightmare!

Later I was told by one of the SPI locals that there are pockets along the beach that even 4X4s get stuck. In those cases its good to have a wench to pull yourself out since even a buddy pulling you out will get stuck. I guess the sand was pretty packed right after the storm surge.

Do you have any pics of the old boats you saw from the air. Don't forget to post your finds

Laters,
Ernie

 

[IAsoldier]

Have a great time and be careful

 

[tapoutking]

Awsome!

 

[creeper71]

Ace 250 doesn't do to bad in wet salty sand ,but you need to turn sensitivity down to 2-3 notch level

 

[hogge]

excuse my ignorance but what is Singer Ranch?

This may help ...

"Although countless people lived on Padre between 1836 and 1962, and there arose one or more small settlements, only a few names are historically connected with the island. John Singer, a displaced Yankee, shipwrecked on Padre in 1846 or 1847 and decided to remain there."

I believe SPI is South Padre Island ...

~ Nick ~

"Quite Riteous Knowledgeous"

 

[49er]

Excellent photographs and history. Good luck on your search for the missing treasure.

 

[curbdiggercarl57]

New piece of history that I never heard about. Love this site!

 

[mpostma]

When I was younger and went 4 wheeling I tried to get my wench to pull me out. She objected. So now I bring a winch with me.
Mark

 

[shaun7]

thats serious treasure hunting! good luck

 

[allen]

neat part of history that id never heard about..

 

[cobrasvo90]

Is this "Singer Ranch location" near the sunken boat out by the surf? Any other locations anyone know of to find any interesting items?

 

[XT18000]

i doubt there is anything left in place to show where the old buildings were located
after this lenght of time but the money maybe. I plan to do some more looking in
that area if every thing go's alright. This is what I plan to use along with a GTI2500
with the two box attachment.
MineLab sd2200d with 18 " mono for the wet sand and the GTI for the dry.

 

[XT18000]

Looks like I dropped one of the photos

 

[tymcmurray]

Research and getting out there is what it is all about!
Well done!

Ty

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