Built by the U. S. Army, the Fort Screven Guard House served the military in various functions until being decommissioned in the 1940s. It briefly served as the Tybee Jail, in the 1950’s and 1960’s and became the Tybee Island Community Center in the 1970’s. Inappropriate modifications were made during these decades. Recent restoration work has undone many of the architecturally inappropriate modifications made over the years and it is a first class landmark, among the oldest public buildings on Tybee Island.

National Register of Historic Places