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History
of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex |
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Geologically,
the Refuge consists of an outermost ridge of a Pleistocene barrier island born
120,000 years ago. Great continental glaciers had retreated their melted ice
and filled the sea. A rising sea piled up ridge after ridge of sand along the
Texas Gulf Coast, creating a vast island of which Aransas is a remnant. Time
brought many changes to the land. River sediments filled barrier lagoons, joining
the island to the mainland. Grasses and trees invaded sandy ridges creating
a home for Ice Age mammals such as lion, camel, bison, bear, mammoth and mastodon.
The Pleistocene passed into geological history leaving only the land, a few
fossil teeth and whooping cranes and alligators as mementos of that era.
8000 years (from 6000-300 B.C.) of Indian occupation along the coast began
with prehistoric men who hunted huge bison and mammoths. They disappeared
as mysteriously as their prey. The Middle or Archaic Indians occupied the
area from 3000-100 A.D. and like those before them, they left little trace
of their lifestyle. However, shell tools found with their spear points reflect
a culture adapted to the bays.
From 1000-1850 A.D., the land and bays were the source of life for the Karankawas.
It is thought the Copanes band of the Karankawa Indians inhabited the Blackjack
Peninsula. These seaside natives hunted the shorelines, bays, shorelines and
offshore islands of the Coastal Bend. Shell middens have revealed shell ornaments,
tools, flint points and shards of pottery. These natives were a tall, handsome
nomadic people who followed the seasons, anticipating natural fruiting times,
animal movements, turns of tide, and always ready to take advantage of whatever
came their way. They lived in skin huts on the shell ridges gathering fruits
of mustang grape, dewberry, prickly pear, and mesquite along with roots and
nuts. They fished for shallow-water fishes and collected crustaceans, whelks,
and oysters. They hunted sea turtles, waterfowl and their eggs, alligators,
deer, javelinas, birds, turtles, insects, and whatever else they could catch.
Their way of life was harsh, but the Karankawa were a proud and relatively
happy tribe. They were unwilling to surrender ancestral lands and customs
for those of white men. Early Texans found this attitude intolerable &
wiped out all the native coastal people. At the time of the Texas Revolution
in 1835, the native Karankawa had been hunted and harassed to near extinction.
One of the last remaining groups of natives was killed near
Austwell in 1851.
The Aransas name is an anglicized version of the Basque phrase, “Aranza
zu”. The phrase comes from an appearance of the Virgin Mary to a Basque
shepherd in 1740. The vision appeared on a thorn bush. According to legend,
the shepherd spoke the words “you are sitting in thorns” or “Aranzan
Zu” upon seeing the vision. The Basque word for place of thorns is “aransa”.
The vision became known as “The Lady of Aranzazu” or “Our
Lady of Thorns.”
In 1746, Capitan Joaquin Orobio y Basterra was exploring the northern sector
of the Gulf Coast for Spain. He crossed a small stream that ran through yaupon
and mesquite which emptied into the bay. When trying to converse with the
natives, they spoke a word, possibly “Aranama”, the name of an
inland tribe. The word sounded Basque to Basterra, perhaps because he was
looking at mesquite thorns. For whatever reason, he decided to name the river
for the Lady of Aranzazu. This name was later given by Basterra’s commander
to an early fort on Live Oak Peninsula that guarded the entrance to Copano
Bay, just south of Blackjack Peninsula.
Early in the eighteenth century, Spanish and Mexican ranchers began moving
into the Coastal Bend. The closest Spanish mission to the Blackjack Peninsula
is Nuestra Senora del Refugio, which holds the distinction of being the last
Spanish mission established in Texas. Built in 1793, it was located just north
of the mouth of the Guadalupe River
There are legends of
pirates and lost treasure in the area. Fabled buccaneer Jean Laffite, known
for plundering Spanish ships and running to hide in shallow, uncharted bays
is said to have deposited a large booty somewhere along False Live Oak Point.
The story goes that in 1821, Laffite was disbanding his crew and preparing
to leave the region. Grandma Frank, a local legend told, “Many men went
into the woods bearing heavy treasure chests, but only one man came out.”
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Much of the Blackjack
Peninsula was declared public domain in 1856, after a lengthy court battle
which ruled against two Irish colonists who had laid claim for many years
to nearly 200,000 acres between the Guadalupe and Nueces Rivers. By the late
1870’s, thirty landholders, including Jones, Bludworth, Webb, McHugh,
de la Garza, Dietrich, and Brundrett, held claim to much of the peninsula.
They farmed and ranched, overgrazing the land with thousands of head of cattle,
flocks of sheep and goats, and herds of horses, mules, and hogs.
The peninsula was called
“the Blackjacks” by these early settlers for its numerous blackjack
oaks. Many small homesteads, a town site, several one-room schools, and two
post offices sprang up between 1880-1917. Since crops did not grow well in
the sandy soil, settlers stuck to raising livestock and like the Indians,
supplemented their diet with wild game, oysters, bird eggs, fish and waterfowl. |
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3 Generations
of George Brundrett family |
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In
the early decades of the twentieth century, the land continued to be used for
ranching. Cyrus Lucas had managed to acquire most of the peninsula and ran thousands
of cattle on what was known as the St. Charles Ranch. Around 1920, Lucas lost
the ranch by foreclosure to the San Antonio Loan and Trust Company. In 1923,
Leroy Denman, an attorney for the company, took over operation of the estate.
Denman brought in native and exotic game such as ring-necked pheasant, California
quail, wild turkey, fallow deer, axis deer, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and
European boar. |
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Falkner
Post Office, 1908 |
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Aransas
NWR was established by Executive Order 7784 on December 31, 1937 by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was comprised of 47,261 acres on the Blackjack
Peninsula. Presidential Proclamations No. 2314 on November 26, 1938 with revisions
in 1941 and 1956 established the proclamation boundary adding an additional
12,934 acres of jurisdiction over open bay waters surrounding the Blackjack
Peninsula. The Refuge was originally named Aransas Migratory Waterfowl Refuge
and was later changed to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in 1939. Today the
Aransas NWRC consists of five units totaling 115,670 acres: Aransas, Matagorda
Island, Tatton, Lamar, and Myrtle Foester-Whitmire. |
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The
Aransas Unit was established in 1937 as “a refuge and breeding ground
for migratory birds and other wildlife…” and “…for use
as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for migratory
birds…”. In March of 1938, the first Refuge employee was Ray Custer,
a Laborer-Patrolman. In October 1938, James Stevenson became the first Refuge
Manager.
Also in October 1938,
the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Camp BF-1 began at Aransas with 196
enrollees. The CCC was first established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1933 amidst the Great Depression. Designed to alleviate the unemployment
and unrest brought on by these hard times, the CCC not only supplied jobs
for thousands of young men, but also was ultimately responsible for much-needed
conservation and construction projects. |
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FDR
signing E.O. 7784 |
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Executive
Order 7784 |
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CCC
Supply Building and barracks behind |
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Here at Aransas, the
CCC created roads, ditches, fire breaks, and several buildings. They graded
roads during the construction of the road to Austwell. The previous road was
not much more than a track. They constructed part of the spillway for Burgentine
Lake, which serves as a major resting area for waterfowl. They constructed
the foundation and framing for the maintenance garage. And, by hand, they
spread oyster shell as a base for many refuge roads. Barracks, staff quarters,
supply, maintenance, and mess hall facilities stood in the Refuge picnic area.
Today, all that remains is the concrete flagpole base still visible at the
site.
Pressure from WWII caused
the U.S. Government to abandon the CCC program in the early 1940’s.
In June 1942, with 52 enrollees, Camp BF-1 closed its doors. Aransas can attribute
initial development of the Refuge to the CCC. Several buildings, roads, and
levees from this program are still being used at Aransas and stand as legacies
for many more years to come.
Other than jobs, the
underlying goals of the CCC were: to rehabilitate the nation’s forests,
to control soil erosion on public and private lands, & to develop national
and state parks. This last goal was particularly evident in Texas, where 31
state parks were created under the CCC. Texas, in fact, had one of the largest
CCC programs, containing at its peak as many as 97 camps and employing nearly
20,000 men.
On November 9, 1967 and
May 15, 1968, the Tatton Unit was added to the Refuge by
Deed of Gift from Mr. & Mrs. Meredith Tatton “…for protecting
and enhancing the habitat required by wildlife species present in the area…”
In 1978, portions of the Tatton Unit were designated as endangered whooping
crane critical habitat. This unit serves as an excellent example of remnant
coastal prairie and has been used as a hacking site for endangered Aplomado
falcon reintroduction efforts.
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Matagorda Island was formed about
4500 years ago. The first peoples to inhabit the barrier island were the nomadic
Karankawas who gathered fruits and roots, hunted birds and mammals with bow
and arrow, and made cane weirs to trap fish, turtles, and shellfish. They
were coastal specialists utilizing local seafoods, plants, and shells to survive
the tough environment. Their first contact with Europeans was in the winter
of 1528 when they met two boatloads of half-dead Spaniards from the Narvaez
expedition. Later more survivors came in, including Cabeza de Vaca. In 1685,
Frenchman La Salle established a camp on the northern tip of Matagorda Island
while his ships were navigating PassCavallo. Later years brought colonizers
and conflict. The Spanish tried to missionize the Karankaws. Eventually, through
disease, harassment, social disintegration, genetic dilution, habitat destruction,
and utter dispair, the Karankaw were gone.
From 1528 into 1817, explorers,
smugglers, pirates and Spanish buccaneers appeared in and around Matagorda
Island. And along with those come stories of shipwreck, mutiny, and treasure
usually associated with Jean Lafitte.
From 1820 through 1835, under
the Mexican empresario land-grant system, colonists began moving into the
area. Stephen F. Austin, Martin de Leon, Green DeWitt, James Power, and James
Hewetson were some of the first empresarios of the area. In 1835, Colonel
James Power became the first owner of record for Matagorda Island. He established
the townsite of Saluria on the northwestern tip.
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In 1852, because boat ship traffic
and shipping disastes increased in Pass Cavallo, the federal government erected
a full-scale lighthouse. Captain James Cummings was the first lighthouse keeper.
Civil War times from
1861-1865 brought the desire to close cotton trade ports and sever military
supply lines along the coastline of Texas. It had a devestating impact on
commuities causing vast destruction of facilities, complete disruption of
society, misery and hardship, and resentment and dispair. Less than one week
after war was declared, a Confederate warship was headed for Saluria where
Union soldiers were unloading. Many skirmishes occurred in the area including
one with Union gunboats coming to enforce the blockade of Pass Cavallo. Saluria
was burned to the ground by the Confederates and although ordered to demolish
the lighthouse, soldiers were unable to blow it up and only took out the lens.
Fort Esparanza was established in 1861 by Confederate Major Daniel Shea. To
protect the fort from flank and rear assault by land, a
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Matagorda
Is. Lighthouse & Cemetery |
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series of "fieldworks"
or rifle pits, was dug from the pass to bayside marshes. All that remains
of the "fieldworks" is an area referred to as the "Confederate
trenches", an overgrown zigzag line of knee-deep ditches extending from
the Gulf beach acress the uplands and to the bayside marshes at Lighthouse
Cove. It is located over 2 miles from the first one and may have been an outer
perimeter line. In 1865, the blockade was lifted and occupation troops left
in 1869. After the war, the lighthouse was rebuilt and relocated two miles
inland. Saluria had been demolished and upcoming hurricanes of 1875 and 1886
ravaged the little that stood. After the 1886 hurricane, many of the residents
abandoned the area and moved inland to Victoria and Cuero.
After early attempts at colonization
failed, Matagorda Island eased into the 20th century pretty much out of sight
and out of mind, occasionally visited by local anglers, hunters, and beachcombers,
but otherwise remaining the private domain of a few hardy ranching families.
Heavy barge traffic commenced
when the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was dredged across Matagorda Bay in 1939.
In 1942 most of Matagorda Island
was taken over for use by the U.S. Air Force. For thirty years, it was strickly
off-limits to the public, and was managed by the military as the Matagorda
Bombing and Gunnery Range. There were several runways, 44 buildings, cement
bunkers, signal beacons, and spotting towers spread over most the island.
In 1971, the Matagorda
Island Unit of the Aransas NWR was established when the Air Force
agreed to let the FWS manage, for the benefit of migratory birds and whooping
cranes and other wildlife, the part of the island that the federal government
owned. The air base closed in 1978. By 1982, the 19,000 acre property was
turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permanent inclusion
in the National Wildlife Refuge System for migratory bird conservation. In
1979, 26,000 acres of beaches and tidal flats was returned to the state of
Texas and designated the Matagorda Island State Park and Wildlife Management
Area under the supervision of Texas Parks and Wildlife. The remaining 11,500
acres reverted to private use.
On September 9, 1982, Toddie Lee
Wynne, owner of the southern 11,500 acres and Space Services Inc. of America,
a Houston-based operation determined to prove that private enterprise had
the ability to do business in outer space, launched a rocket from Matagorda
Island. It went up 195 miles up carrying a 1000 lb. mock payload before arcing
down to splash into the Gulf of Mexico 10.5 minutes later.
Established in 1971,
Matagorda Island NWR had additions made to it in 1983, 1988 and 2000. Beginning
November 20, 1971, Matagorda Island Air Force Range (19,000 ac.) was administered
cooperatively as part of the Aransas NWR for the protection of migratory birds
and whooping cranes. On December 8, 1982 these federal lands were placed into
the National Wildlife Refuge System. Refuge lands (19,000 ac.) and the State
lands (beaches, tidal flats) were then combined for management purposes through
Memorandum of Agreement. This Agreement ratified by Congress August 4, 1983
established the Matagorda Island State Park and Wildlife Management Area,
a Unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. In 1988, the Department of
Interior acquired fee title to the lower 11,502 acres of Matagorda Island.
In 1994, through a revised Memorandum of Agreement, the entire island was
combined under the title Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuge and State
Natural Area. The 1994 Agreement delineates current programmatic management
responsibilities.
Texas Parks and Wildlife
(TPWD) is responsible for public use and USFWS is responsible for wildlife
and habitat management. On December 8, 2000 the Refuge acquired 15.29 acres
in a title transfer of the Matagorda Island Lighthouse from the U.S. Coast
Guard. Today 30,517 acres are owned in fee by the federal government, including
6.9 acres in Port O’Connor. The Texas General Land Office holds fee
title to 26,166 acres, making a total of 56,683 acres comprising Matagorda
Island National Wildlife Refuge and State Natural Area. The Lamar Unit, 733
acres, was purchased in 1993. This unit was designated as endangered whooping
crane critical habitat. An additional shoreline property, 245 acres, is being
negotiated for purchase as critical whooping crane habitat with an easement
on the owner’s remaining 584 acres. This area is currently closed to
the public.
The Myrtle Foester-Whitmire
Unit, 3,440 acres, was purchased on May 21, 1993 for waterfowl management,
shorebird habitat management, moist soil management and native prairie restoration.
Cooperative farming, permitee grazing, water level manipulation and prescribed
burning are management tools utilized here. This area is currently closed
to the public.
The Lamar Unit,
733 acres, was also purchased in 1993. It is designated as critical habitat
for endangered whooping cranes. An adjacent coastal marsh property is under
conservation easement with the property owner.
References: “A
Naturalist’s Guide – Aransas” by Wayne H. McAlister and
Martha K. McAlister, "A Naturalists Guide - Matagorda Island" by
Wayne H. McAlister and Martha K. McAlister, “The History of Refugio
County, Texas”, “Refugio: A Comprehensive History of Refugio County
from Aboriginal Times to 1953” by Hobart Huson.
Refuge Visitor Center Exhibits
Comprehensive Conservation Plan documents
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