The Tybee Light is one of seven surviving colonial-era lighthouse towers in the United States, but it was heavily modified during the mid-nineteenth century.

[2] The first tower was built at the direction of James Oglethorpe and was constructed of wood; erected in 1736, it was felled by a storm in 1741.

[3] The following year a replacement was erected, this time of stone and wood, but still without illumination; instead, it was topped with a flag pole.

[2] Confederate forces burned the light in 1862 during the Civil War and removed the lens as they retreated to Fort Pulaski.

The following year the tower was shaken by the 1886 Charleston earthquake, which damaged the lens and caused further cracking of the brickwork; these were both however immediately repaired.

The site is open to the public and retains its keepers houses and auxiliary buildings as well as the lighthouse tower.