Ordered by General James Oglethorpe, governor of the 13th colony, in 1732, the Tybee Island Light Station has been guiding mariners' safe entrance into the Savannah River for more than 270 years. The Tybee Island Light Station is one of America's most intact, having all of its historic support buildings on its 5-acre site. Rebuilt several times, the current light station displays its 1916 day mark, has 178 stairs and a First Order Fresnel lens. It is Georgia's oldest and tallest active lighthouse (1733-1867) and one of America's most complete light stations. The museum depicts Tybee Island's history from Native American settlement to World War II.

During the Civil War, in 1862 to be exact, a major portion of the lighthouse was destroyed when Confederate troops from Fort Pulaski set fire to the tower in order to prevent the Federal troops from using it to guide their ships into port.