Pelican House Tybee
The Pelican House Tybee was designed and built by a prominent Atlanta Home Builder in 2005.
The house was designed as vacation home that could be used by small groups of friends and family who enjoy music, games and the outdoor life. Pool & Ping-Pong tables, as well as large porches were a must.
The open floor plan of the 'Pelican House' was inspired by the architecture of some of the original vacation lodges located in the woods and coastal areas New York and Maine. These lodges, while on a much larger scale, and of more rustic construction materials, offered expansive social areas on their main floors with niche areas defined by furniture groupings. In the 'Pelican House' you'll enjoy a Billiard Area, Pub, Breakfast Keeping Area, Kitchen, Outdoor Grilling Station and others.
Because of the open plan, each bedroom in the 'Pelican House' has been provided with a full bath and solid entry door. This ensures that guests can retire to the quiet and privacy of their own suite. Telephones are provided in each room but to encourage group activities Televisions are not.
The property on which the 'Pelican House' is built has been owned by different members of the same family since around 1950. To the right of the property a large dune can be seen. This Dune originally extended almost to Polk Street but was cut level with Bay Street with the sand being used in the construction of the main bridge coming on to Tybee Island.
Tybee Island 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 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 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. After another invasion of Spanish Florida by South Carolina in 1704, the Spanish retreated to St. Augustine and Pensacola; 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. First built in the year 1736, the lighthouse was made of brick and wood, and stood 90 feet 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 threaten the first. Part of the third lighthouse at the site, built in 1773, still stands as the bottom 60 feet of the present lighthouse. The top 94 feet of the current lighthouse was added in 1867.
Today, the Tybee Lighthouse is a popular tourist destination, having all of its support buildings on the 5-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. 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 1899 and was named for Brigadier General James 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.
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.
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