Tybee Island, Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tybee Island is an island and a present-day city in Chatham County, Georgia near the city of Savannah. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,392. The island, which includes the city of the same name, had a population of 3,713.

Tybee Island may be best known outside of Georgia as the home of the Tybee Bomb, a nuclear weapon that was lost offshore on February 5, 1958. Officially renamed "Savannah Beach" in a publicity move at the end of the 1950s, the city of Tybee Island has since reverted to its original name (although maps show the use of the name "Savannah Beach" as far back as 1952 on official state maps). [1]. The small island, which has long been a quiet getaway for the residents of Savannah, has become a popular vacation and wedding spot with tourists from outside the Savannah metropolitan area.

Tybee Island is also the site of the first of what became the Days Inn chain of hotels.

1 History
- 1.1 Lighthouse
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Attractions
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Tybee Island was originally inhabited by the Euchee Native American tribe and gave the island its name: tybee is a Euchee word for salt.

Later, in the 1500s the Spanish laid claim to the island and named it Los Bajos. It was at the northern end of the Guale missionary province of Spanish Florida. During that time the island was frequented by pirates 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 in 1670, warfare increased between the English and Spanish and their allied Indians as well as South Carolina's pirate allies. In 1702 James Moore of South Carolina led an invasion of Spanish Florida with an Indian army and a fleet of pirates. The invasion failed to take the capital of Florida, St. Augustine, but did destroy the Guale and Mocama missionary provinces, raiding and enslaving Indians throughout the Sea Islands, including Tybee Island. After another invasion of Spanish Florida by South Carolina in 1704, Spanish power was limited to St. Augustine and Pensacola and the Sea Islands were depopulated, allowing the establishment of new English settlements such as the colony of Georgia.

In 1733 English settlers led by James Oglethorpe settled on Tybee Island before moving on to settle eventually in Savannah. In 1736 John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, arrived on Tybee Island.

[edit] Lighthouse

Tybee Island Light Station today

The Tybee Island lighthouse was built in the year 1736. The lighthouse was made of brick and wood,and was standing 90 feet tall; it was the highest structure in America at that time. Five years later the lighthouse was destroyed by a horrible storm.

In 1742 a second lighthouse was finished; this version reached 94 feet tall 4 feet taller than the first lighthouse. In 1773 a third lighthouse was built which was also destroyed, this time in 1862 by Confederate troops from nearby Fort Pulaski. Of the 100 feet of the third lighthouse only 60 feet remained which served as a rebuilding point for a fourth lighthouse.

In 1869 it was decided that the lighthouse must be protected from ever increasing tides and gale force winds so it was moved 164 feet back from the shoreline. In the years from 1871 and 1886 the walls of the lighthouse became cracked by storm forces and later the light lens was broken by the Charleston earthquake of 1886.

The latest incarnation of the Tybee Island lighthouse stands at 154 feet and in 1933 became an electrically driven lighthouse. Due to the fact that modern marine navigation techniques outgrew the need for such a lighthouse the Tybee Island lighthouse became obsolete. Just three weeks after it became electrically driven it was donated to the Georgia Historical Society by the U.S. government.

[edit] Geography

Tybee Island is located at 32°0′24″N, 80°50′58″W (32.006672, -80.849374)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.925 km² (2.674 mi²). Of this, 6.624 km² (2.5575 mi²) is land and 0.3008 km² (0.1161 mi², or 4.344%) is water. The entire island (as distinguished from the city of the same name) has a land area of 56.645 km² (21.871 sq mi).

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,392 people, 1,568 households, and 901 families residing in the city. The population density was 511.6/km² (1,326.3/mi²). There were 2,696 housing units at an average density of 406.6/km² (1,054.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.93% White, 1.89% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.

There were 1,568 households out of which 15.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.62.

In the city the population was spread out with 13.8% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 35.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,741, and the median income for a family was $58,462. Males had a median income of $45,833 versus $30,694 for females. The per capita income for the city was $32,406. About 5.3% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.