Tybee Island Beach Vacations : An Island with a Past
Greetings from Tybee Island, GA!
On March 17, 1978, "Savannah Beach" becomes "Tybee Island" again, going back to its original name, but what's in a name? Savannah Beach and Tybee Island share the same colorful history that is now preserved in the islands superb Tybee Island Museum: An important fort in our coastal defense system - Fort Screven - and a world-class hotel - The Tybee Island Hotel - both figure into the islands colorful past.
And whatever you choose to call this beautiful island, the sea turtle, an endangered species, has made Tybee Island its nesting ground and calls it "home."
World War 1 soldiers came here to Fort Screven to train and stand guard - and play on the beach. Everyone looked the other way during Prohibition, while bootleggers and whiskey smugglers had a free reign bringing in the booze.
Come the 1930s, The elegant Tybee Island Hotel was a huge draw bringing Big Bands and thousands of tourists icluding movie stars. The WPA build a seawall and walkway late in the decade. And in the early 40s, Fort Screven became an important base once again in World War II protecting our coast from invaders.
Tybee Island and Savannah Georgia are so close to each other, that a beach and island vacation can easily include a day trip or two to this historic city and all its restaurants attractions, including the nation's oldest museums, the Telfair Museum of Art and the new Jepson Center for the Arts.
But today, the island of Tybee is also a world of its own and vacationers can simply revel in the 400 years of island history so beautifully exhibited at the Tybee Island Museum that is on the site of former Fort Screven. The dedicated folks of the Tybee Island Historical Society have meticulously renovated the Lighthouse. The ghosts of the past live on in these exhibits celebrating so much history in one place.
There's music in the air on this island, with local musicians contributing unexpected musical interludes throughout the day on the island and in the charming restaurants and squares. Carefree vacationers have arrived at a beautiful, laid back island - with a past. The magnificent sea turtles are still nesting here.
