Mustang Island State Park

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The barierrer island formed about 5,000 years ago and was first home to Karankawa Indians and then Spanish explorers. The park was named for the wild horses that roamed the island for hundreds of years; no one truly knows how the mustangs got there, however. The island park is managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife and is open to the public for recreational use.

Images

Fishing (PaulBrian, Apr 2010) http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g56476-d106057-i17559720-Mustang_Island_State_Park-Port_Aransas_Texas.html#25172247

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Though the first recording of Karankawa Indian residents on the island came from a French explorer named Jean Béranger in 1720, it is believed that other Europeans had visited the island before then.

As more European settlers staked their claim on the island in the 1840s and1850s, the Karankawa poupulation began to phase out. Those European settlers began a farming community in which they raised livestock, however, there were not many who decided to reside on the island long term since it was difficult to travel to and from the island and there was a minuscule fresh water supply.

According to Texas Parks & Wildlife website, "A small fort built on the island during the Mexican War (1846-48) guarded the entrance to Aransas Bay. During the Civil War, the Union Navy blockaded the coastal area, but no major battles occurred here."

Throughout the 1900s and even today, the island's main industry is tourism. The land that makes up the park, 3,954 acres, was purchased from private owners by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department in 1972.

Sources

http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/mustang-island/park_history https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_br_p4502_0084h.pdf