There seems to be little doubt that Padre Island will quickly take its place as one of the nation’s outstanding recreational spots. With only three semitropical beach areas in the United States, the southern parts of Florida, California, and Texas, Padre is the largest and last undeveloped warm water beach area left. On Valentine’s Day, 1954, the beautiful Queen Isabella Causeway opened at the southern tip of the island. The climate is as good as Miami’s, and it is blessed with one of the finest white sand beaches in the world. Laguna Madre is a natural water sports basin, and the deep sea fishing in the Gulf of Mexico is already world famous. Padre Island’s principal developer, John L. Tompkins, whose grandfather marched down Padre with Taylor’s army during the Mexican War in 1846, is known locally as “Mr. Padre Island,” and has focused international attention on the area’s resort possibilities. When Padre Island’s future as a National Seashore Park began to be considered in Congress, a popular song, called “Come with me to Padre Island,” was dedicated to the island. It was composed and recorded by your author, Loraine Daly of San Antonio, Texas, and Carl Johnson of Dallas, Texas. It served to introduce this little-known tropical island to many who were not acquainted with it. Envisioned in the island’s near-term future are a marina, a king-sized aquarium—where the public can view marine life—and an oceanographic laboratory. Brownsville, which neighbors the southern tip of Padre, has long been known as the gateway to Latin America. None of us can deny the significance of having one of our brightest resort areas right at the doorstep of the entrance to our country. _Bibliography_ Ferguson, Harvey, _Rio Grande_, A. A. Knopf, New York, 1933. Gilpin, Laura, _The Rio Grande_, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York, 1949. Hockaday, J. A., Article in the Port Isabel _Press_, June 26, 1959. Hogner, Dorothy Childs, _South to Padre_, Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, New York, 1936. Horgan, Paul, _Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History_, Rinehart, New York, 1917. Kelsey, Anna Marietta, _Through the Years_, The Naylor Company, San Antonio, 1952. Lewis, Tracy Hammond, _Along the Rio Grande_, Lewis, New York, 1916. Lott, Virgil N., _People and Plots on the Rio Grande_, The Naylor Company, San Antonio, 1957. McKenna, Verna Jackson, _Old Point Isabel Lighthouse_, Harlingen, Texas, 1956. Pierce, Frank Cushman, _A Brief History of the Rio Grande Valley_, George Banks, Menasha, Wisconsin, 1917. Purcell, Anita, Ed., _Frontier Mexico: 1875-1894 (The Letters of William L. Purcell)_, The Naylor Company, San Antonio, 1962. Reese, Pauline, _The History of Padre Island_, Master’s Thesis, Texas College of Arts and Industries, Kingsville, Texas. Stambaugh, J., _The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas_, The Naylor Company, San Antonio, 1954.