The Cockspur Island Lighthouse is located two miles west of Tybee Island Lighthouse on Cockspur Island, the first Cockspur Lighthouse was built in 1849 and used to mark the entrance to the south channel of the Savannah River. This structure proved inadequate and was rebuilt in 1857. Unlike many lighthouses in the South, this small beacon received once minor damage during the Civil War. After the war, the light resumed operation until 1909, when ships with deep drafts were no longer able to use the south channel. The U.S. Coast Guard abandoned the property in 1949, and control was transferred to the National Park Service.