Why the name...Tybee Light Power Squadron:

At the time that Tybee Light Power Squadron was being organized, in 1956-57, it was the established practice in USPS to name a new squadron after a local landmark. The procedure was to take the name from a geographical site near it or to use some point on the chart that serves the location of the squadron. The most significant nautical feature hereabout, without question, was the venerable lighthouse on Tybee Island. And so, Tybee Light Power Squadron came to have its name. The Tybee Light was under construction by the State of Georgia when Georgia became part of the Federal Union in 1788. That lighthouse is believed to have been ceded to the United States in December 1791. Construction of the first lighthouse at this location was started in 1736 of cedar and bricks. It was completed in 1742. Tybee Light holds claim to the distinction of being the third oldest operating lighthouse in America. In 1838 the lighthouse had a height of 95 feet from the base to top of the lantern. Today it is 154’ high and known to seaman the world over.  The Tybee Lighthouse has been renovated with major changes four times during its history. The first structure had to be rebuilt in 1757, and replaced in 1773. In 1857 the renovation included fitting with second-order lenses. During the Civil War, in 1862, the interior and the lantern were destroyed by fire. When the lighthouse was rebuilt in 1867, new fireproof masonry construction replaced the old wooden tower and it was painted all white. In 1869 The Beacon was moved back 165 feet because the site was threatened by constant washing of the gale-generated surf. In 1871 the relentless sea was responsible for so much damage to the lighthouse tower that the 78 year old structure was rendered irreparable. Despite this, and reports of the alarming extent of the cracks, nothing has been done to replace the structure. It stands today as it was rebuilt in 1867. In 1890 the appearance was changed to black at the bottom and white at the top. In 1920, the color pattern became black at the top and bottom with a white band In the middle. This was the appearance in 1957 when the design of the burgee was adopted. The burgee shows the black-white-black pattern. In 1969 the paint pattern of the lighthouse was changed again, to the appearance that it still has in 1995, the top two thirds black and the lower portion white. From the sea, this pattern makes it much easier to see. The black shows up against the sky while the white contrasts better against the mature trees on the island.

During the 1960-1970 period; the top portion may actually have been painted gray. The fixed, white, electric light of 70,000 candle power --1960. Power is visible for 18 miles. The Tybee Lighthouse is only used, today, as the back light in the Tybee Roads range.