The Last Fish Shack on the River

Simple Southern fish shacks, food for coastal families, cooked and caught by coastal families are disappearing throughout Savannah.

Across the Wilmington River from the Isle of Armstrong in Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt Fisherman’s Seafood still stands as it has since before World War II.

Thunderbolt, Georgia, was, through most of the 20th century, a seafood empire. On either side of the banks of Chatham County’s Wilmington River, hundreds of shrimp boats were docked four deep on each side; the economy thrived with canneries and frozen-food purveyors.

In contrast a drive through town today reveals some tucked away homes and on the main stretch, a tattoo parlor, a lawyer’s office, Tortuga’s, Tubby’s, a marina, and a long shrimp dock, with pieces of wood shattered, beat up by a recent hurricane. Where we used to sit on the deck at Tubby’s and look out at the water, there now is a fortress wall of condominiums. No view there.

Crossing Turner Creek from Whitemarsh to Talahi Island, skinny wooden docks protrude from new construction homes over the marsh grass. A sign indicates Paula Deen’s Creek House Seafood and Grill on Whitemarsh Island is closed permanently, but it remains there to this day, sprawling across the land.

Williams Seafood was always a favorite destination. It promised the best deviled crab South of the Mason-Dixon Line. ( I’ll share the coveted recipe at the end of the article)

The Williams Seafood sign still stands at the entrance of a condominium development on the Bull River, surrounded by signs for casino cruises and dolphin tours. The site where the restaurant once operated is now an empty lot for sale.

In 1936, Williams Seafood opened as a roadside stand. Three generations of Williamses ran the place, “a fixture in this community,” people say, until its demise by arson, also in 2004. Its mid-century competitors, like Frank Paris, Allie’s Wharf (with a sign that read "Where the elite eat in their bare feet"), and Tassie’s Pier, were all long closed when Williams burned to the ground.

At one time, Williams Seafood was the king of Savannah’s myriad of restaurants. Their deviled crabs were so famous that they were shipped frozen to grocery stores and supermarkets throughout the Southeast. Sadly, it was never rebuilt and remains a great memory and a legend. (recipe will follow)

Depositos is still standing and much the same today as it was 60 years ago. The tables and everything are exactly where they always were. The menu is pretty much the same, with boiled shrimp, deviled crab, and steamed oysters. For more than half a century, Despositos has served the best boiled shrimp on the Wilmington River. For many years, it was strong competition for all other family operated businesses, but all of them have folded.

Sad to say the old restaurants, the old ‘mom and pop’ types are vanishing, and not coming back. Now, most are chains, or owned by people who own four or five.

It’s located on the east side of the river, across from Thunderbolt village on the Isle of Armstrong, which is a more secluded section of Thunderbolt with another shrimp dock and a few random houses. You will know you’re at Despositos when you see a seafood restaurant with glowing beer signs in the windows.

Desposito was an Italian dock worker who bought it from the previous owners and renamed it. He and his family have operated it since 1981.

At the mouth of Tybee Island is a stretch of waterfront on the Lazaretto Creek. Patrick Matthews owns this piece of land and the dock his grandfather built in 1946.

“We had 15 50 to 70-foot shrimp boats at this dock.” Matthews looks out onto the river and points to another dock. “And we had just as many boats over there. There were even more before that in previous years.” “And the same can be said of Thunderbolt, and over at Bryan County Co-Op.” We walked along the dock as he continued. “They had a fleet of boats at the Bryan County Co-Op, another fleet at Liberty County, and in Sunbury, then all over McIntosh County, and Glynn County had about as many as Savannah.”

“I would say there were probably a couple of thousand boats in Georgia back then. Now, there’s probably less than 50.

FISH CAMPS ON SAVANNAH’S ISLANDS

Back before Savannah had restaurants and even before refrigeration, they had fish camps. In the Georgia heat, fishermen needed a place to cook and eat what they caught, not long after they caught it. Fish camps were ready to clean, prepare, and serve you what you brought in the door, and they did it for very little money.

Green’s Fish Camp on Wilmington Island was a popular spot. Families would fish to supplement their food rations and cook their catch at camps like Green’s.

You could rent a boat, go out with a chicken neck and a string, and come back in with a boatload of crabs. Just bring ‘em to the bluff, and you could cook ‘em and eat ‘em right there. There was no refrigeration back then, so when you came back from a trip, you put the bucket out on the sidewalk and ran to tell everybody to come get some shrimp

Behind the Kitchen Door

This is the food and recipe section of this newsletter for paid subscribers and those who want to subscribe.

This week features Williams Seafood Deviled Crab - recipe by Tommy Williams, owner of Williams Seafood Restaurant in Savannah. Sadly, the restaurant burned down and was never rebuilt, but the memory of this special place will last a lifetime.

Crab, Shrimp, and Okra Gumbo, Inspired by Gullah Grub Restaurant, St. Helena Island, SC.