Renovations light way to next chapter for Tybee Island lighthouse

TYBEE ISLAND ― There is a centuries-long story being told by two types of brick, exposed during the ongoing renovation of this historic lighthouse and removal of the surrounding stucco.

The tale goes back to 1773, as evident by the Savannah Grey bricks at the base of the tower that survived after Confederate soldiers set the lighthouse ablaze during the Civil War. The next chapter begins with the adjoining fired bricks that were used later when the lighthouse was rebuilt in 1867.

Standing 145 feet and 178 stairs high, the lighthouse on Tybee Island’s north beach is the oldest and tallest in Georgia. With age and stature comes the need for regular maintenance and restoration work, as threats such as ocean air, saltwater intrusion and lightning strikes add to the historic structure’s deterioration.

The damage was evident during a routine assessment last winter, when the Tybee Island Historical Society found that the lighthouse was in need of immediate preservation. The windows around the Fresnel lens, the roof, and masonry all needed essential repairs, according to the nonprofit organization that owns and cares for the structure.

The historical society is now working to ensure the tower is something visitors can continue to see for generations. A lighthouse repair specialist, New York-based ICC Commonwealth, was hired last fall to restore the structure at an estimated cost of about $1.8 million.

“We’re not changing the building in any way,” said Sarah Jones, Tybee Island Historical Society executive director. “We’re just repairing what needs to be repaired and we’re going to make sure we get at least another 25 years out of it.”

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Aging well but aging

The project is the most extensive restoration since ICC completed a similar job in 1999. A 25-year period between such projects is pretty standard, considering the lighthouse’s outer shell has been cracking, as the historic porous bricks within act like a sponge and then leak out the collected moisture, said Jones, adding that the tower is struck by lightning two or three times a year.

“I think because we did such a good job with the 1998 restoration, we’re very blessed in that a good foundation is laid, but with any building in a coastal environment, it’s going to take a hammering and a beating,” she said.

ICC Project Manager Beau Payne said the project is expected to be completed in late June. To help prevent future deterioration, the stucco was replaced with historic lime mortar, which allows the masonry to breathe and prevent water vapor from getting trapped inside, he said.

The light has continued to shine during the restoration work. It doesn’t just serve as a tourist attraction. Ships still use the 24-hour-a-day light as a navigation aide and the U.S. Coast Guard recently installed a new LED bulb to ensure it remains so.

After the ICC crew completed the renovation of the lantern earlier this year, visitors in late May were able to once again hike to the top, as the contractors completed the next phase on the lighthouse’s exterior, which included the temporary removal of the painted black and white striped “daymark.”

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution

A rewarding climb

On a recent Thursday morning, one of the historical society’s volunteers, Nancy Stewart Emory, briefed visitors — the lighthouse sees about 120,0000 a year — on the site’s history, while also advising them to hold the railing and to give those coming down the right-of-way.

The visitors come from all over the world and have included young Girl Scouts as well as a couple of women in their 90s who made it to the top, Emory said.

“It’s really fun to watch people have a mountaintop experience,” she said. “I can really tell they made it to the top by the broad smiles they have when they come down.”

Emory said she rushed to the top when the lighthouse reopened after the completion of the first phase.

“I couldn’t tell they did anything,” she said “They worked and worked, but they were just these excellent restorers that keep it looking like it’s supposed to look.”

As the owners of the lighthouse, the historical society is left paying the tab on the restoration. The nonprofit organization is currently holding a fundraiser to help cover those costs. In addition to receiving a $20,000 grant from Georgia Power and $10,000 from the city of Tybee, smaller donations via the nonprofit’s Go Fund Me page have been made by locals and visitors from the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

The donations allow the nonprofit to preserve the lighthouse without using up all of the reserve funds needed for emergencies such as storms, Jones said.

In addition to the lighthouse, the historical society also takes care of the three keeper’s cottages, fuel storage building, garage and the summer kitchen on the 5-acre site.

“Once this is over we’re going to immediately need to start saving for our next big project,” Jones said.