The Tybee Lighthouse Station, a National Historic Landmark, is among the oldest and most completely preserved light stations in the nation. The 5-acre site includes all the original service buildings and structures in meticulously restored condition. A lighthouse has been located on the north end of Tybee Island since 1736. The first two lights were destroyed due to close proximity to the shore; the present structure stands on a site more removed from the shoreline and incorporates 60 feet of the third 100-foot-tall lighthouse constructed of brick in 1773. The lighthouse was damaged by retreating Confederate troops in 1861 and rebuilt immediately after the war to its present 154-foot height with a first-order (9-foot) Fresnel lens.
The surrounding light station was active until 1987, when maintenance support was transferred to the Coast Guard station on Cockspur Island. Light station buildings here include the Headkeepers House (1881) and the First Assistant Keeper’s House (1885), built to identical ground plans in Stick Style. The Second Assistant Keeper’s House (1861) was originally built as Confederate barracks before Union forces occupied the island. The small brick Summer Kitchen (1812) served the entire complex until 1910, when individual kitchens were added behind the three keepers’ houses. The Fuel Storage Building (1890), added when the light was lit by kerosene, was constructed with fireproof materials, including a concrete floor, brick walls, and tin roof. The automobile garage was added to the complex in the 1930s. The beacon was automated in 1972. In 1987 the Tybee Island Historical Society took over responsibility for maintenance of the facility and in 1998 embarked on a multiyear, four-phase restoration of the complex, spearheaded by its director, Cullen Chambers.