U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service logo National Wildlife Refuge System Logo Celebrating a Century of Conservation
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McFaddin
National Wildlife Refuge		 A ribbon of water flows through a sea of prairie grasses.
P.O. Box 358
7950 S. Gulfway Dr.
Sabine Pass, TX   77655
E-mail:
Phone Number: (409) 971-2909
Visit the Refuge's Web Site:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/mcfaddin/		 Common scene at McFaddin NWR
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  History
Continued . . .

Archeological finds along this Gulf Beach indicate that the Karankawas fished and hunted here in 10-12,000 B.C. The discovery of stone scraping tools, arrows and spear points along with bones of bison, mastodons, wooly mammoth and saber-toothed tigers suggest a bountiful hunting and gathering lifestyle. The arrival of the Spanish in the 18th century marked the beginning of the end of the cultures of the Atakapa and Karankawas.

For centuries, these people had piled discarded shells near bays that gradually became shell mounds where trees took root. Today, those small tree groves serve as magnets to migrating songbirds looking for a resting perch after a long flight over the Gulf. The mounds also memorialize the presence of these first peoples of the Texas Gulf Coast.

 
 
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