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.

[2][3] It was first fitted with a system of reflectors and candles, but this was upgraded to oil lamps after it was ceded to the federal government in 1790.

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

[2] The main tower was severely damaged in a hurricane in 1871, and developed such serious cracking that a $50,000 appropriation was requested for its replacement.

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.