Tybee Island, Georgia

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Tybee Island, Georgia
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settlement_type = City
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Chatham County and the state of Georgia


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Georgia
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Chatham
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area_total_km2 = 6.9
area_land_km2 = 6.6
area_water_km2 = 0.3
area_total_sq_mi = 2.7
area_land_sq_mi = 2.6
area_water_sq_mi = 0.1
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population_as_of = 2000
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population_total = 3392
population_density_km2 = 491.6
population_density_sq_mi = 1256.3
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timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 32 |latm = 0 |lats = 24 |latNS = N
longd = 80 |longm = 50 |longs = 58 |longEW = W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 3
elevation_ft = 10
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 31328
area_code = 912
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 13-78036GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0333294GR|3
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footnotes = Tybee Island is an island and city in Chatham County, Georgia near the city of Savannah in the southeastern United States. 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.

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 and as recently as the mid-1970s on official state maps). [ [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/histcountymaps/chatham1952map.htm GeorgiaInfo - Carl Vinson Institute of Government ] ] . The small island, which has long been a quiet getaway for the residents of Savannah, has become a popular vacation spot with tourists from outside the Savannah metropolitan area. Tybee Island is also home to the first of what became the Days Inn chain of hotels, the oft-photographed Tybee Island Light Station, and the Fort Screven Historic District.

History

Native Americans, using dugout canoes to navigate the waterways, have 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 1500s. "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 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 their pirate allies and the Spanish and their Native American. 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. After another invasion of Spanish Florida by South Carolina in 1704, Spanish power the Spanish retreated 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.

Lighthouse

Tybee Island's strategic position near the mouth of the Savannah River has made the island's northern tip the ideal location for a lighthouse since Georgia's early settlement period. First built in the year 1736, the lighthouse was made of brick and wood, and stood convert|90|ft|m 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 threated the first. Part of the third lighthouse at the site, built in 1773, still stands as the bottom convert|60|ft|m of the present lighthouse. The top convert|94|ft|m of the current lighthouse were added in 1867. [" [http://www.cityoftybee.org/Assets/Files/BeachTaskForce/Beachplan.pdf Tybee Island Beach Management Plan] ." Page 3. Retrieved: 9 September 2008.]

Today, the Tybee Lighthouse is a popular tourist destination, having all of its support buildings on the five-acre 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.

Tybee Island in the Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Union Army placed siege batteries along the north coast of Tybee Island that aided in their successful bombardment and capture of Fort Pulaski on April 10-11, 1862. This was the first significant use of rifled cannons against masonry fortifications and demonstrated that masonry fortifications were obsolete. Despite their significance, the Union batteries remain unrecognized as an historical site.

Fort Screven historic district

Fort Screven was first commissioned in 1899 and was named for General Joseph Screven, a Revolutionary War hero who was killed in action near Midway, Georgia, 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 George C. Marshall, later the architect of the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Western Europe after World War II. Very little remains of the original fort due to redevelopment of the area for housing. One of the most important remaining structures is the Tybee Post Theater which was constructed in 1930. It was one of the first theaters in Georgia to have sound features and was the highlight of recreational activities for the fort. 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 and several cannons and other military hardware are on display. Another remaining area is Officer's Row, an impressive group of original homes that had a sweeping an ocean view. One of these homes is now a bed and breakfast.

The resort period

In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, residents in large, polluted cities frequently sought out remote beaches for summertime getaways. Clear, saltwater breezes were believed to be remedies for various ailments, including asthma and certain allergies. Steamships began carrying patients and tourists to Tybee Island just after the Civil War. In 1887, the Central of Georgia Railroad completed a line to Tybee Island, opening the island to a wave of summer tourists. The railroad built the Tybrisa Pavilion in 1891, and by the end of the decade, several hundred summer cottages dotted the island. [" [http://www.cityoftybee.org/Assets/Files/BeachTaskForce/Beachplan.pdf Tybee Island Beach Management Plan] ." Retrieved: 9 September 2008.]

In the 1920s, U.S. Route 80 was completed, connecting Tybee Island via road with the mainland. The Tybrisa Pavilion became a popular stop for Big Band tours, and development pushed 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 in 1967, and was replaced by the Tybee Pier and Pavilion in 1996. [ [http://www.tybeeisland.com/tybee-island-pier-pavilion.shtml Tybee Island Pier & Pavilion] ." Retrieved: 9 September 2008.]

The Tybee Bomb

On February 5, 1958, a U.S. Air Force B-47 Stratojet from Homestead Air Force Base, Florida jettisoned a nuclear weapon (specifically, a Mark 15 hydrogen bomb) off the coast of Tybee Island while conducting training exercises with a USAF F-86 Sabrejet. The two 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. 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 doesn't pose a serious threat. [Air Force Nuclear Weapons and Counterproliferation AGency, " [http://www.af.mil/library/posture/savannah.pdf Air Force Search & Recovery Assessment of the 1958 Savannah GA-B47 Accident] ." 12 April 2001. Retrieved: 11 September 2008.]

Geography

Tybee Island is located at coor dms|32|0|24|N|80|50|58|W|city (32.006672, -80.849374)GR|1. The island is the northeastern-most of Georgia's Barrier Islands, which comprise the outer section of the state's Lower Coastal Plain region. Like the other Barrier Islands, Tybee consists of a sandy beach on its eastern shore and a tidal salt marsh on its western shore. The interior consists of a maritime forest (the density of which has been reduced by development) and freshwater sloughs. [Adrienn Mendonca, " [http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2967&sug=y Tybee Island] ." "New Georgia Encyclopedia", 3 June 2005. Retrieved: 9 September 2008.]

The Savannah River empties into the Atlantic Ocean just north of Tybee Island, placing the island in a historically strategic location. To the west, the marsh-lined Lazaretto Creek splits the island off from McQueens Island (the two-mile 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 city has a total area of convert|2.674|mi|km. Of this, convert|2.5575|mi|km is land and convert|0.1161|mi|km, or 4.344%, is water. The entire island (as distinguished from the city of the same name) has a land area of convert|21.871|mi2|km2.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 3,392 people, 1,568 households, and 901 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,326.3 people per square mile (511.6/km²). There were 2,696 housing units at an average density of 1,054.2/sq mi (406.6/km²). 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.

Attractions

* Tybee Island Lighthouse
* Tybee Museum (at Fort Screven)
* Fort Pulaski National Monument
* [http://www.tybeemsc.org/ Tybee Island Marine Science Center]
* [http://tybeeisland.com/tybee-island-pier-pavilion.shtml/ Tybee Island Pier & Pavilion]
* Camp Burton, Georgia 4-H center
* Tybrisa Street (formerly 16th Street)

Photo gallery

References

* [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P001&-tree_id=4001&-transpose=N&-redoLog=true&-all_geo_types=N&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=100$10000US130510111012002&-geo_id=100$10000US130510111012003&-geo_id=14000US13051011103&-geo_id=16000US1378036&-search_results=16000US1378036&-format=&-_lang=en&-show_geoid=Y Tybee Island: Census Tract 111.03 and Blocks 2002 and 2003, Census Tract 111.01, Chatham County, Georgia; Tybee Island city, Georgia] United States Census Bureau www.sandysbytheshore.com tybee vacations

External links

* [http://www.cityoftybee.org/ City of Tybee Island website]
* [http://www.tybeevisit.com/ TybeeVisit.com] , official site of Tybee Island Tourism Council
* [http://www.tybeeisland.com/ Tybee Island Online]
* [http://www.tybeehomes.com/ Tybee Real Estate] , Tybee's only real estate magazine
* [http://www.tybeebreeze.com/ Tybee Entertainment news magazine]
* [http://www.tybeenews.com/ Tybee Island newspaper]
* [http://www.tybeelighthouse.org/ Tybee Island Light Station]
* [http://www.tybeemsc.org/ Tybee Island Marine Science Center]
* [http://www.tybeetheater.com/ Friends of the Tybee Theater]
* [http://www.tybeeisland.com/tourinfo/museum/timuseum.htm/ Tybee Museum]
* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2967 Tybee Island] Entry in New Georgia Encyclopedia
* [http://www.georgiascoast.com/ Georgia's Coast in photographs and more]
* [http://tybeeconcierge.com/tybee-island-calendar-of-events/ Tybee Island Calendar of Events]