Tybee lighthouse to be deeded to historical society

TYBEE ISLAND - U.S. Interior Secretary Gale North will sign over the 120-year-old Tybee Island lighthouse to the community&#39;s historical society next week, ending a controversy over its ownership. <br> <br> The Tybee Island Historical Society has cared for the lighthouse for 15 years, supervising its restoration and conducting tours. The City Council initially support the society&#39;s application to own the structure, but this spring a council faction attempted to reverse the decision, saying the city should own the island&#39;s most important landmark. <br> <br> A public uproar led the dissident council members to back down. <br> <br> Norton will stand beneath lighthouse on Monday in a ceremony transferring it from the U.S. Coast Guard to the nonprofit society. <br> <br> It is one of eight lighthouses that will be used as models for the potential transfer of up to 301 Coast Guard-owned historic lights across the country. <br> <br> The Coast Guard does not have the money to maintain them and wants to put them in the hands of groups that do. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m proud as well as humbled that the historical society is one of the pilot projects that will set the stage for all future transfers in the nation,&#39;&#39; society director Cullen Chambers said. <br> <br> Norton will also announce the transfer of the St. Augustine, Fla., beacon at the Tybee event. She will make a similar announcement in Michigan the following day. <br> <br> Dan Smith, the National Park Service official who is coordinating the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act Pilot Program, said Norton chose to make the announcement in Tybee instead of St. Augustine because she has already spent too much time in Florida this year dealing with the Everglades restoration project. <br> <br> ``Another reason is your lighthouse is so photogenic. If you want one to stand in front of, that&#39;s the one,&#39;&#39; he said. ``She is a lighthouse person.&#39;&#39;