In 1847 Congress appropriated $8,000 for a new lighthouse on the cape, 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of the original site.

The nearby lighthouses at Cape San Blas and Dog Island were destroyed by the same hurricane, and Apalachicola was heavily damaged.

The Cape St. George lighthouse was rebuilt in 1851–52, 250 yards (230 m) inland from its previous site; construction was hastened by the salvage and re-use of two thirds of the bricks of the ruined tower.

Union naval forces captured Apalachicola in April 1862, but the light remained dark.

In 1995 Hurricane Opal washed away much of the sand around the tower, shifted it partially off its pilings and rotated it, leaving it leaning about 10° from vertical.

Island volunteers formed the St. George Light Association to reconstruct the lighthouse on a more protected site.

The Association won grants of $525,000 from federal and state sources, and rebuilt the lighthouse in a county park in the middle of St. George Island.