December 20, 1866, Georgia Legislature grants a charter to the Savannah, Skidaway and Seaboard Railroad Company to build rail lines to Thunderbolt, the Isle of Hope and Skidaway Island

There were seven or eight movie houses downtown (Savannah), and streetcars took you everywhere you wanted to go for just a nickel. Barbees's Pavilion out on Isle of Hope was one special place that made a nice ride. We would go there in the afternoons and on weekends. At various times it was a skating rink, a dance hall, a fishing pier and turtle soup factory. They raised the terrapins right on the spot, and that meant there was always plenty of fresh bait for fishing or crabbing. "We would also ride the train down to Tybee. The old Tybrisa Pavilion that stuck out into the ocean was a great place to go for teen-agers. The big bands of those day - Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Glen Gray, Guy Lombardo - would play dates there all during the season. "There wasn't a highway to Tybee then, but not many people could afford cars during the Depression, and the train ride was cheap. Admission to the dances was not much, either, and even when we couldn't afford that, we could hear the music down on the beach. "I grew up in the neighborhood around 33rd Street.....

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After the Civil War, Isle of Hope became a popular resort community, with daily train service in the 1870s. Where the river met the railroad was Barbee's Pavilion, which became world renowned in the 1920s.

Following family tradition, Mercer attended Woodberry Forest School in Virginia but still retained an active social life in Savannah. In the thick of the Jazz Age during his teenage years, he danced the Charleston at the DeSoto Hotel and at Barbee's Pavilion on the Isle of Hope while drinking bootlegged liquor with his older brothers and Ciucevich cousins at Tybrisa on Tybee Island. With friends he sang and played the ukulele and participated in Savannah's Little Theater.

Alexander William Barbee Sr.

Alexander William Barbee, Sr., of Savannah, died Thursday, June 20,2002 at his home after a short illness. Born in Savannah on Feb. 14, 1929, to the late William Marcus Barbee and Rose Lasky Barbee, Alex was a lifelong resident of the Isle of Hope. His grandfather, the late Alexander Marcus Barbee, settled at Isle of Hope in 1888 and operated Barbees Pavilion on Bluff Drive as well as the only Diamond Back Terrapin farm in the world. Customers for the terrapins including the finest restaurants from around the globe as well as noted celebrities such as Princess Grace of Monaco. Several generations of Savannahians have very fond memories of weekend nights or Sunday afternoons at Barbees Pavilion. From the dance contests, to the skating rink, to the swimming pool, to the Little Theater productions, to an ice cream cone on a Sunday afternoon drive with the family, it was a place to be. Alex graduated from Benedictine Military School in 1947 and was a veteran of the Korean Conflict serving with the 158th Fighter-Bomber squadron. He was the agent for Wassaw Island for 30 years having followed his father in that position. An avid sportsman, he held the worlds record for miles traveled in a Boston Whaler Outrage navigating Savannahs coastal waters for some 300,000 miles. After retirement, he worked for the St. Joseph/Candler Health Systems. Alexs quick wit and dedication to the goals of many civic and fraternal organizations, led to several leadership positions including commodore of the Savannah Yacht Club; Past President of the Sinn Fein Society, Past Exalted Ruler and Honorary Life Member of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Lodge #183; Past President LAlliance Francaise de Savannah (French Society); Past Captain of the Savannah Quarterback Club and a member of The Hibernian Society of Savannah. He was also a former member of the Forest City Gun Club and the Savannah Lions Club. A communicant of the Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament, he served for many years as an usher. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a sister, Ann Barbee McIntyre and a grandson, Alexander "Lex" Thomas Williams. Survivors: wife of 53 years and best friend, Helene Beckmann Barbee; son and daughter-in-law, Alexander William Barbee, Jr. and Deborah Ann Barbee, all of Savannah; daughter and son-in-law, Kathy Barbee Roper and Joe D. Roper, Sr. of Fayetteville; sister and brother-in-law, Gertrude Barbee Magee and Ernest Magee of Winter Park, FL; grandchildren, Marsh Alexander Thomson, Ashley Helene Williams, Alexander William Barbee, III and step grandchildren, Joe D. Roper, Jr., Michael J. Williams, Jr., Kristin E. Burk and Caroline E. Burk and several nieces and nephews. Visitation: 5:00-8:00 p. m. Sunday, June 23 at the Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Rosary: 7:00 p. m. Sunday, June 23 at the Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Funeral: 11:00 a. m. Monday, June 24 at the Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Burial: Catholic Cemetery. Pallbearers: Albert Quante, John Quante, Walter Corish, Jr., Jules Paderewski, Gus Viers, Richard Underwood, Paul Hinchey and Dr. Jules Victor, III. Honorary Pallbearers: Members of the Sinn Fein Society, the Hibernian Society and the Savannah Quarterback Club. Remembrances: Hospice Savannah, Inc., P. O. Box 13190, Savannah, GA 31416 or Benedictine Military School, P. O. Box 13577, Savannah, GA 31416. Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors Hodgson Chapel.

CREDITS: Excerpts:Clippings and 'Notes' courtesy of Savannah Library