McGloin's Bluff

McGloin's Bluff, the highest point on the eastern tip of San Patricio County, faces Corpus Christi Bay four miles south of Ingleside (at 27°49' N, 97°13' W). A bench mark immediately back of the bluff is still used by surveyors as a reference spot. The bluff was probably named after James McGloin, a prominent early settler of San Patricio County. Tradition holds that after making one of the original trips carrying settlers to the new colony of San Patricio, the ship Albion returned in the middle of March 1830. The ship had experienced a trying voyage and arrived off the bar at Aransas Pass with the passengers in dire need of water. A priest on board had a vision of water flowing out of the sand in abundance. After making it over the bar, the captain unloaded his passengers at McGloin's Bluff where, just as in the priest's vision, the colonists found a freshwater seep at the foot of the bluff. Fresh water is still available in this coastal area at a depth of ten to fifteen feet.