Developer accidentally removes street sign named for Hilton Head's 'Mr. Transportation'
An oversight by developers and a Hilton Head Island family nearly erased a small piece of history from Spanish Wells Road this month.
A street named for the late Charlie Simmons Sr. disappeared with the construction of a new main drive for the Silver Moss development, disappointing family of the iconic ferry-operator and those who remember how he shaped the island by transporting residents, school children and midwives from Savannah before bridges connected Hilton Head to the mainland.
Developers said it did not occur to them to transfer the name "Captain Sim Drive" to the new road inside the gated community, which is now called "Lavender Circle." Likewise, Simmons' family said it never occurred to them that the sign may be taken down, so they never asked the developers to preserve it when they sold the land, part of about 10 acres of marshfront property, to Silver Moss.
However, soon after the sign was returned to the town about three weeks ago, developer David Brown realized some residents missed the old name.
Though he thought it too late to rename the street again, he sought to make it up to Simmons' memory by dedicating the neighborhood's park to and naming it after the native islander. A plaque will educate future residents of the 48-home community about the man who went by Captain, Mr. Transportation and Mr. Hilton Head.
"It's better than nothing," his son, Charles Simmons Jr., said Wednesday. He added that his father wouldn't have cared about the change one bit.
"Nothing bothers him too much. He takes everything in stride," Simmons Jr. said of his late father.
Simmons Sr. lived to see his family name their private road for him, shortening Simmons to Sim because the sign couldn't accommodate all the letters of his moniker.
Today, two commemorative markers and the bridge over Jarvis Creek now bear his name, 10 years after Simmons died at the age of 99 and a group of native islanders began a push to rename Spanish Wells Road after the ferry captain.
The elder Simmons not only ferried people, mail, pay checks and groceries on and off the island, but he operated a country store and later trucked residents to and from Savannah. Despite his business acumen, he never cared about getting rich off his ventures, Simmons Jr. said.
"If he could do you a favor, that was his satisfaction," he said.
Brown says he's been familiar with Simmons Sr.'s legacy for years and is hopeful the park will serve his memory as well as or better than the shortened street name.
Rosa G. Simmons, his daughter-in-law, said she hopes the new park will not be one more thing open only to those behind a community's gates. Her son, however, said he's hopeful another road will someday be called "Captain Sim Drive."
"Things have a way of working themselves out," Palmer Simmons said. "I think there'll be more good than bad out of this whole thing."
Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.
Related content:
- 'Mr. Transportation' was Hilton Head's lifeline , November 29, 2010
This story was originally published August 30, 2015 at 8:39 PM with the headline "Developer accidentally removes street sign named for Hilton Head's 'Mr. Transportation'."