Tybee Island Live Cam

There is a threat of hurricanes along the coast during the months of June through November of each year. The City has prepared an emergency management plan, which coordinates with the countywide Chatham Emergency Management Agency, the statewide Georgia Emergency Management Agency and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The local plan prepares residents and visitors for voluntary and mandatory evacuations. The City prepares its facilities correspondingly. There is an effort to move equipment and personnel to Critical Workforce Shelters inland, and cooperates with CEMA to form a skilled and trained re-entry team. Visitors and residents are advised to leave the island when the first call for voluntary evacuation is issued because the routes inland will be crowded with evacuees. Folks remaining on the island during a major hurricane are cut off from the mainland and no rescue attempts can be made during the storm. Jump to "NOAA" the site that keeps us all abreast of incoming storms.

The earliest historic references available concerning this small island date back to when the local inhabitants were the native American Euchee Indians. From their native tongue, the word "tybee" which meant "salt" came to become the actual name of the island of Tybee.

Time passed, as it does, on into the early 1500's when the Spanish laid claim to our island as part of Spain's "La Florida", and specifically called it by the name "Los Bajos". The Savannah river they called "Rio Dulce" translated to mean "sweet" or "soft" river. For many years the island was also visited by pirates for refuge, to bury treasure, and as a source of fresh water. As for Spain, well, eventually the time would come when they would give up their claim to Tybee and the surrounding area due to the overpowerment of the French, and British settlements.

In 1733 a small group of English settlers with, and under the leadership of James Edward Oglethorpe came to settle on, and around the island of Tybee. Three years later John Wesley who came to be the founder of the first Methodist Church, also arrived to set roots, and establish himself in the area. He is credited as being the first person to express a prayer (on Tybee) on the American continent.

That same year the original Tybee Island lighthouse was ordered to be constructed by James Oglethorpe. It was completed in 1736 under the direction of a man named Henry Talbot. It was made of brick and cedar piles, and stood 90 foot high, making it the tallest structure of its kind in America. In 1741 while a new lighthouse was under construction, (also by Oglethorpe order, and under the direction of Noble Jones) a storm destroyed the original, and it was temporarily replaced with a flag atop a tall mast! The new one standing 94 feet high was completed in 1742.

The Tybee lighthouse received the personal attention of George Washington concerning the inquiry as to which kind of staircase to build; A hanging staircase, or the more budget minded plain staircase.

In 1869 the lighthouse was moved back a hundred and sixty-four feet from it's original location. The walls became cracked and damaged on several occasions between the years 1871 and 1886, twice by storms, and once again by a earthquake stemming from Charleston SC. which also broke the lens of the light itself. This great lighthouse has been in subject to, and threatened by many wars; It was prepared as a relay warning if the British should attempt to attack the area during the war of 1812.

Revolution, The War Between the States, World War 1, and World War 2; Tybee Lighthouse knew, experienced, and suffered those perilous times. The "new" lighthouse stands at a hundred and fifty-four feet. In 1933 the Tybee Lighthouse acquired its first electric light source, but technological advances had made the need of its navigational light obsolete, and after only three weeks the lighthouse was given by the US government over to the Georgia Historical society.

The sentence "In 1869 the lighthouse was moved back a hundred and sixty-four feet from it's original location to protect it from increasing tides and gale winds." is not accurate. The current tower was erected in 1773 and has stood in place since then.

The last sentence and after only three weeks the lighthouse was given by the US government over to the Georgia Historical Society" is not accurate. The Tybee Island Historical Society, through a lease agreement with the U. S. Coast Guard, took over operation of the Light Station in 1987 and has sole responsibility for maintaining and restoring the Light Station. The Coast Guard still maintains the light itself, which marks the entrance of the Savannah River from the Atlantic Ocean.

Savannah is widely renowned for its many historical features a reputation earned in large part because of the city's active role in American history and the beautiful preservation of its centuries-old buildings, parks, and other properties.