The island was used and occupied seasonally by the Karankawa people at the time of European encounter. During Spanish rule, Father José Nicolás Ballí, also known as Padre Ballí, owned the island in the 19th century, when it was known as the "Isla de Santiago" land grant. Padre Island had been granted in 1759 to his Spanish colonist grandfather, Nicolás Ballí, by King Charles III of Spain. The younger Ballí's parents were both Spanish immigrants to Mexico and owned vast amounts of land by royal grants.