The first Tybee Island Lighthouse was constructed of wood, stood 90 feet high and was completed in 1736. It was constructed to mark the entrance to the Savannah River. However, due to its close proximity to the shore it was eventually washed away by a storm. A second 90 foot brick and wooden lighthouse was completed in 1741, however it suffered the same fate as the first Tybee Lighthouse-it too was constructed too close to the shore.

Not to be without a lighthouse in the area, a third one was constructed and completed in 1773. It stood 100 ft. high. The lighthouse and surrounding area was ceded to the US Federal Government in 1790 when Georgia ratified the US Consitution. Like all other lighthouses of its time it was operated by the United States Lighthouse Establishment.

This third lighthouse used candles and a large metal disc as its source of light. This was replaced by a 16 candle arrangement which used whale oil as its fuel source. In 1857 a Second Order Frensel lens was installed which only used one candle to provide the necessary illumination.

A fourth lighthouse was completed in 1867. It used the lower 60 feet of the third lighthouse as a base with another 94 feet added to this base. A first order Frensel Lense was used in this 154 foot structure and on 1 October 1867 the light was turned on. It could be seen over 18 miles at sea.

Like so many other lighthouses during the 1930s, the kerosene fueled light was converted to electricity. In 1939 the US Coast Guard took over the operation of all of the US lighthouses-Tybee Island Light Station was one of them. The Coast Guard remained at the lighthouse until 1987. By this time expenses associated with the light station's upkeep became too great and so the station closed down. The Tybee Historical Society now maintains the lighthouse, its supporting buildings (all of the historic buildings are still in tact), and the surrounding five acres.