Tybee Island ( ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and a

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

in Chatham County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, 18 miles (29 km) east of

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

. The name is used for both the city and the island, but geographically the two are not identical: only part of the island's territory lies within the city, while the rest is unincorporated. The island is Georgia's easternmost point. The phrase "From Rabun Gap to Tybee Light", intended to illustrate Georgia's geographic diversity, contrasts the mountain pass near the state's northernmost point with the coastal barrier island's lighthouse. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was about 3,000 people. The entire island is a part of the Savannah metropolitan statistical area. Officially renamed Savannah Beach in a publicity move in 1929, the City of Tybee Island reverted to its original name in 1978. The small island, which has long been a quiet beach getaway for Savannah residents, has become a popular vacation spot for visitors from outside the Savannah area. Tybee Island is home to the first of what eventually became the

Days Inn Days Inn is a hotel chain headquartered in the United States. It was founded in 1970 by Cecil B. Day, who opened the first location in Tybee Island, Georgia. The brand is now a part of the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, headquartered in Parsippany ...

chain of hotels, the oft-photographed

Tybee Island Light Station The Tybee Island Light is a lighthouse located on the north end of Tybee Island, Georgia. It overlooks the Savannah River at the point where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean. The Tybee Light is one of seven surviving colonial-era lighthouse ...

, and the

Fort Screven Tybee Island ( ) is a city and a barrier island in Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, 18 miles (29 km) east of Savannah, Georgia, Savannah. The name is used for both the city and the island, but geograph ...

Historic District. On February 5, 1958, the U.S. Air Force accidentally dropped an atomic bomb into the sea off Tybee Island due to an accidental collision between two aircraft. Although the "Tybee Bomb" did not detonate (the nuclear weapon was an inert, simulated nuclear capsule according to some reports, while others have claimed the nuclear capsule was equipped), there has been ongoing concern because the

Mark 15 nuclear bomb The Mark 15 nuclear bomb, or Mk-15, was a 1950s American thermonuclear bomb, the first relatively lightweight () thermonuclear bomb created by the United States. A total of 1,200 Mark 15 bombs were produced from 1955 to 1957. There were thr ...

lost during the mishap was never recovered.

History

Native Americans, using dugout canoes to navigate the waterways, hunted and camped in Georgia's coastal islands for thousands of years. The Euchee tribe likely inhabited the island in the years preceding the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the area in the 16th century. ''Tybee'' is the Euchee word for "salt". In 1520, the Spanish laid claim to what is now Tybee Island and named it ''Los Bajos''. It was at the northern end of the

Guale Guale was a historic Native American chiefdom of Mississippian culture peoples located along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16th ...

missionary province of

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida () was the first major European land-claim and attempted settlement-area in northern America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and th ...

. During that time the island was frequented by

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s who used the island to hide from those who pursued them. Pirates later used the island's inland waterways for a fresh water source. After the founding of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in 1670, warfare increased between the English and their pirate allies and the Spanish and their Native American allies. In 1702, James Moore of South Carolina led an invasion of Spanish Florida with an Indian army and a fleet of militia-manned ships. The invasion failed to take the capital of Florida,

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, but did destroy the Guale and

Mocama The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Their ...

missionary provinces. After another invasion of Spanish Florida by South Carolina in 1704, the Spanish retreated to St. Augustine and

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

; the

Sea Islands The Sea Islands are a chain of over a hundred tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States, between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns rivers along South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The la ...

were depopulated, allowing the establishment of new English settlements such as the

colony of Georgia The Province of Georgia (also Georgia Colony) was one of the Southern Colonies in colonial-era British America. In 1775 it was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to support the American Revolution. The original land grant of the Province of Ge ...

Lighthouse

Tybee Island's strategic position near the mouth of the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

has made the island's northern tip the ideal location for a lighthouse since Georgia's early settlement period. First built in 1736, the lighthouse was made of

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

and

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

, and stood tall, making it the highest structure in America at that time. The original lighthouse has been replaced several times. The second lighthouse was built in 1742 when

beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward r ...

threatened the first. Part of the third lighthouse at the site, built in 1773, still stands as the bottom of the present lighthouse. The top of the current lighthouse were added in 1867. Today, the Tybee Lighthouse is a popular tourist destination, having all of its support buildings on the site historically preserved. The current black-and-white tower markings are a reversion to its fourth day mark, first used in 1916. The Tybee Island Light Station is one of just a handful of 18th-century lighthouses still in operation in North America.

Civil War

During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the Union Army placed siege batteries along the north coast of Tybee Island that aided in their successful bombardment and capture of

Fort Pulaski Fort Pulaski National Monument is located on Cockspur Island between Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia. It preserves Fort Pulaski, the place where the Union Army successfully tested rifled cannons in 1862, the success of which rendered brick ...

on April 10–11, 1862. This was the first significant use of

rifled Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groove ...

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

s against

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s and demonstrated that masonry fortifications were obsolete. Recently, the City of Tybee Island has taken action to commemorate Tybee's historic significance in the Civil War. In 2005, the city obtained a federal grant to acquire two tracts of land where Union soldiers launched their attack against Fort Pulaski.

Fort Screven historic district

Fort Screven was first commissioned in 1898 and named for Brigadier General James Screven, a Revolutionary War hero killed in action near

Midway, Georgia Midway is a city in Liberty County, Georgia, United States. It is a part of the Hinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan statistical area. The population was 2,141 in 2020. Midway has several museums, including the Midway Museum and the Dorchest ...

, in 1778. The fort served as a valuable part of coastal defense until it was decommissioned in 1947. Fort Screven is most notable for one of its former commanding officers,

General of the Army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. ...

, later the architect of the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...

that helped rebuild Western Europe after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Approximately 70 fort buildings still remain. The entire Fort Screven district was placed on the National Historic Register in 1982. One of the most important remaining structures is the Tybee Post Theater, constructed in 1930. It was one of Georgia's first theaters to have sound features and was the highlight of the fort's recreational activities. Other remaining buildings include the recently restored guard house, the bakery (now a private home), and barracks (now apartments). The ruins of the beach fortifications are also extant, and of the six original batteries, Battery Garland (built in 1899) is accessible to the public. Battery Garland houses the Tybee Museum. Another remaining area is Officer's Row, a group of original homes with a sweeping ocean view, one of which is now a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

Resort period

During the late 19th century, at the height of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, residents in large, polluted cities frequently sought out remote beaches for summertime getaways. Clear, saltwater breezes were thought to be remedies for numerous ailments, including

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

and certain

allergies Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Food allergy, food al ...

. Steamships began carrying patients and tourists to Tybee Island just after the Civil War. In 1887, the

Central of Georgia Railway The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constr ...

completed a rail line to Tybee Island from downtown Savannah, opening the island to waves of summertime visitors. The railroad built the Tybrisa Pavilion in 1891, and by the end of the decade, several hundred summer cottages dotted the island's Atlantic coast.Tybee Island Beach Management Plan
." Retrieved: September 9, 2008. In the 1920s,

U.S. Route 80 U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the ...

was completed, connecting Tybee Island via road with the mainland. The Tybrisa Pavilion became a popular stop for

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

tours and performers included

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

, and

Blue Steele Eugene Staples, better known by the stage name Blue Steele (March 11, 1893 – July 1, 1971) was an American jazz singer, trombonist and bandleader. He also played mellophone. Staples was born in Arkansas and played in a hot jazz group called Wa ...

. The pavilion also housed a bowling alley and roller skating rink. Development continued to push toward the island's southern tip. By 1940, the island had four hotels, including the Desoto Hotel and Hotel Tybee, and numerous smaller lodges. The Tybrisa Pavilion burned down in 1967, and was replaced by the Tybee Pier and Pavilion in 1996. Cecil B. Day opened the first

on Tybee Island in 1970.

Tybee Bomb

On February 5, 1958, a

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

from

Homestead Air Force Base Homestead Air Reserve Base (Homestead ARB), previously known as Homestead Air Force Base (Homestead AFB) is located in Miami–Dade County, Florida, to the northeast of the city of Homestead. It is home to the 482nd Fighter Wing (482 FW) o ...

, Florida, jettisoned a

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...

(specifically, a

Mark 15 Mark 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. This chapter records the narrative of Jesus' Passion (Christianity), passion, including his Pilate's court, trial before Pontius Pi ...

hydrogen bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lo ...

) off the coast of Tybee Island while conducting training exercises with a USAF F-86 Sabrejet. The aircraft collided, with the pilot of the fighter ejecting and the crew of the bomber making an emergency landing at nearby

Hunter Air Force Base Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn ...

. The lost weapon, known popularly as the "Tybee Bomb", remained a security concern for several years, although the Air Force claims the bomb lacks a nuclear capsule and poses no serious threat. In 2004, retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant Colonel Derek Duke took part in a private search for the bomb. According to an article in the ''Savannah Morning News'', Duke found that there were "high levels of radiation and unusual magnetometer readings" at a specific point in the

Wassaw Sound Wassaw Sound is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Georgia, United States near Savannah at the mouth of the Wilmington River. American Civil War naval battle It was the location of an American Civil War naval battle between the CSS ...

, just off the Tybee coast. He concluded from these readings that the bomb might be present "at a point just off the southern tip of Little Tybee", an undeveloped barrier island adjacent to Tybee Island. In response, the Air Force launched a nine-month search for the Tybee bomb in 2004. The search team specifically investigated the area of the Wassaw Sound where Duke had found high radiation levels. The Air Force reported to the media in 2005 that the source of the high radiation was likely

monazite Monazite is a primarily reddish-brown phosphate mineral that contains rare-earth elements. Due to variability in composition, monazite is considered a group of minerals. The most common species of the group is monazite-(Ce), that is, the cerium ...

, a mineral naturally high in radiation. The ''Morning News'' headline at the time said, "Duke Found Dirt".

Shark attacks

On June 15, 2016, the Tybee city council voted 4–1 to withhold shark attack numbers where the attacks did not result in loss of life. According to the ''Savannah Morning News'', the vote was a direct result of pressure from local businesses that had seen a decline in tourism due to recent reported shark activity.

Geography

Tybee Island is located at (32.006672, -80.849374). The island is the north easternmost of Georgia's

, which comprise the outer section of the state's Lower Coastal Plain region. Like the other Sea Islands, Tybee consists of a sandy beach on its eastern shore and a tidal

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

on its western shore. The interior consists of a maritime forest (the density of which has been reduced by development) and freshwater sloughs. The

empties into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

just north of Tybee Island, placing the island in a strategic location. To the west, the marsh-lined

Lazaretto Creek Lazaretto Creek is a small tidal river in Chatham County, Georgia Chatham County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Georgia, on the state's Atlantic coast. The county seat and largest city is Savannah. One of the origina ...

splits the island off from McQueens Island (the stretch between the main western shore of Tybee Island and Lazaretto Creek is mostly marshland). Tybee Creek flows along the south shore of Tybee Island and joins the Atlantic at the island's southeastern tip. Little Tybee Island, which consists mostly of protected wetlands, lies across Tybee Creek to the southwest. The size of the sandy beach at the southern tip of Tybee Island varies considerably in response to tidal changes. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of , of which is land and , or 27.2%, is water. The entire island (as distinguished from the city of the same name) has a land area of .

Climate

Tybee Island has hot weather in summer, while in winter the weather is cool with winds. The temperature typically varies from 45 °F to 88 °F and is rarely below 33 °F or above 93 °F. The below table shows the monthly average temperatures:

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,114 people, 1,305 households, and 831 families residing in the city.

Crime rate

Tybee's violent crime rate is lower than Georgia's but its property crime rate is higher. The table below shows the rate of crime per 100,000 people.

Events

Every year since 1987, Tybee Island has had a Beach Bum parade, traditionally held in May the weekend before Memorial Day weekend. The parade route comes down Tybee's main road, Butler Avenue, and when parade floats come by onlookers have been known to shoot each other with water guns. Tybee Pirate Fest, which began in 2005, is typically held the weekend before

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. He went ashore at ...

. Tybee Island was formerly home to "Orange Crush," an annual beach party attracting thousands of students from historically Black colleges and universities. The 2019 event was canceled after an organizer was arrested, and future events were moved to

Jacksonville Beach, Florida Jacksonville Beach is a coastal resort city in Duval County, Florida, United States. The population was 23,830 at the 2020 census. The city is part of group of communities collectively referred to as the Jacksonville Beaches on the northern ...

, with organizers citing "lack of resources, limited parking, civil rights violations, and political injustices." The event returned to Tybee Island for the 2025 season.

Education

Tybee Island is part of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System. In the 2009-10 school year, there were approximately 34,668 students in the district. There is also a public charter school on the island.

Photo gallery

File:Tybee Island City Hall.jpg, City Hall Image:Tybee-island-sunrise-ga1.jpg, Sunrise from the Tybee Pier Image:Tybee-island-north-beach-ga1.jpg, Fort Screven and the North Beach, viewed from the Tybee Lighthouse Image:Tybee-island-pier-ga1.jpg, Tybee Pier and Pavilion Image:Tybee-tybrisa-street-ga1.jpg, Tybrisa Street File:Tybee Island Pier in Savannah, Georgia.jpg, Tybee Island Pier in Savannah, Georgia Image:Tybee-island-south-lowtide-ga1.jpg, The south tip of Tybee Island at low tide Image:Tybee-island-lazaretto-ga1.jpg, Lazaretto Marsh, off the western shore of Tybee Island Image:Sunrise over north beach on Tybee Island, GA.jpg, Sunrise over north beach Image:CrabShack-TybeeIsland.JPG, Entrance to The Crab Shack, a popular spot on Tybee Island

References

External links

City of Tybee Island official website

TybeeIsland.com
{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Barrier islands of Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Chatham County, Georgia Savannah metropolitan area Populated coastal places in Georgia (U.S. state) Islands of Chatham County, Georgia Forts in Georgia (U.S. state)