Topsail Island facts for kids
Topsail Island sound side
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 Topsail Island
Location in North Carolina
Topsail Island
Location in the United States
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 34°28′11″N 77°28′19″W / 34.46972°N 77.47194°W |
| Length | 26 mi (42 km) |
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Topsail Island (pronounced TOP-sill) is a long, narrow island, about 26 miles (41.8 km) long, located off the coast of North Carolina. It's a barrier island, which means it's a natural strip of land that protects the mainland from ocean storms. Topsail Island sits between the Crystal Coast and the Cape Fear area.
The island is bordered by the New River Inlet to the northeast and New Topsail Inlet to the southwest. It's separated from the mainland by sounds and channels that are part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, a protected water route.
Topsail Island is home to three towns: North Topsail Beach, Surf City, and Topsail Beach. The island is famous for its beautiful beaches and thick maritime forests. It's also a special place for sea turtles. You can only get to the island by two high-rise bridges, one in Surf City and one in North Topsail Beach. The island is split between Onslow County in the north and Pender County in the south.
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Why is it Called Topsail Island?
The name "Topsail Island" has a cool story linked to pirates! People believe that pirates used to hide in the channel between the island and the mainland. They would wait there to surprise and capture merchant ships passing by.
As sailors learned about this trick, they started calling it "Topsail Island." This is because the only part of a pirate ship you might see before an ambush was its "topsail," the highest sail on the mast.
A Look Back in Time
Before World War II, Topsail Island was a quiet place only reachable by boat. Local people would often visit for picnics on the sandy beaches. Farmers even guided their livestock across the shallow waterways at low tide to let them graze on the wild beach grass.
Some people also searched for the legendary buried treasure of the famous pirate, Blackbeard, hidden within the island's forests. In the early 1900s, only a few small buildings existed, used as shelters for fishing trips or summer getaways.
World War II and Camp Davis
When World War II began, the U.S. Army took over the island. They built a large temporary anti-aircraft training base called Camp Davis nearby. The Army constructed a road from Camp Davis to the sound and put in a temporary pontoon bridge over the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. This pontoon bridge was later replaced by a swing bridge in the 1950s, and then a modern high-rise bridge in 2018.
They also built training areas and support buildings in what is now the Surf City business district.
Secret Missile Tests: Operation Bumblebee
Right after the war, the US Navy took control of Topsail Island. They started a secret project with Johns Hopkins University called Operation Bumblebee. This project was all about developing and testing early guided missiles. Over 200 missiles were test-fired from the island!
The building where missiles were put together is now a museum and meeting center in Topsail Beach. The old launch pad is now a patio for a motel, and you can still see several missile tracking towers standing along the island. The missile testing ended in 1948, and the island was given back to its original owners. The roads, bridge, and other structures were left behind, which helped the island start to become a beach resort in the 1950s.
Rebuilding After Hurricane Hazel
In 1952, a developer built a brick model home for a new community. However, in 1954, Hurricane Hazel hit the island hard. The storm surge flooded the entire island, washing away most of the buildings.
The model home survived with only minor damage. But because of the hurricane, future homes were built on tall pilings to protect them from floods. That original model home still stands today in Topsail Beach.
Protecting Sea Turtles
Sea turtle populations are facing big challenges. Their numbers are shrinking fast because of more human activity and their homes (habitats) being damaged. People are now working hard to help these amazing creatures, especially by protecting their egg-laying sites.
These nesting sites are found along the sandy beaches and up into the sand dunes. Four main types of sea turtles can be found near Topsail Island: loggerhead, green, leatherback, and Ridley sea turtles. The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is a big focus for protection efforts.
The Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center
The Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Topsail Island is dedicated to helping these turtles. Their main goal is to protect and watch over the 26-mile stretch of beach that makes up Topsail Island. They work hard to:
- Oversee the hatching of sea turtle eggs.
- Care for sick and injured turtles.
- Protect the nesting sites where eggs are laid.
Hurricanes can also cause problems for sea turtle nests. Strong storms can damage nesting areas by eroding the sand. This might make turtles avoid choosing those spots in the future. Hurricanes can also drown eggs, which reduces the number of baby turtles. Luckily, sometimes the number of eggs affected is small compared to how many eggs are laid overall.
All five species of sea turtles found here are listed as endangered. This means they are protected by law under the Endangered Species Act.
The Topsail Turtle Project
The Topsail Turtle Project started because turtles have been nesting on this island for hundreds of years, even before it was called Topsail Island. What began with a few volunteers has grown into a large operation.
Karen Beasley founded the project with a dream to protect the turtles. Volunteers would walk the beaches at night, find nesting sites, and watch over the eggs as they hatched. After Karen passed away in 1991, her mother, Jean Beasley, took over and continues to lead the project today.
More About Operation Bumblebee
After World War II, the Navy took over Topsail Island for Operation Bumblebee. This was a top-secret project with Johns Hopkins University to develop and test ramjet missiles. These tests were very important for advancing jet aircraft and missile technology in the United States. The project helped lead to modern space technology and missiles used on naval ships, like the Talos and Terrier.
The name "Bumblebee" was chosen possibly because people thought bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly, but they do anyway! This operation helped make supersonic aircraft and shipboard missile design much better in the mid-1900s.
Operation Bumblebee also brought big changes to Topsail Island. They dredged the waterway, built new roads, and brought fresh water to the island through pipes.
Topsail Island was the first permanent place for missile testing among three sites on the Atlantic coast. The buildings built for these tests are very important because they are the only ones left from these early missile programs. These include the Assembly Building, the Facility Control Tower, and Observation Tower No. 2.
- The Assembly Building is a one-and-a-half-story brick building.
- The Control Tower is a three-story concrete building.
- Observation Tower #2 is an unchanged example of the eight instrument towers built on the island.
- Some towers were turned into houses.
- One tower was a restaurant, but its pier was destroyed by Hurricane Fran in 1996.
- The concrete launch pad is now a patio at the Jolly Roger Motel in Topsail Beach.
About 500 Navy and Marine personnel arrived in mid-1946 to set up the testing facilities. Over 18 months, around 200 experimental rockets were built and fired from the island. Each rocket was about six inches wide and between three and 13 feet long. They were launched towards the northeast, flying up to 40 miles.
Even though the tests were successful, the location wasn't perfect for a permanent base. Weather conditions and more boat traffic sometimes interfered with testing. So, the facility was eventually closed, and its equipment was moved to other sites.
Getting Around Topsail Island
Two main state highways run along Topsail Island. They meet in Surf City, which is roughly in the middle of the island.
- NC 50: This highway goes south from the Surf City Bridge to the very end of the island in Topsail Beach.
- NC 210: This highway goes north from the Surf City Bridge to North Topsail Beach, and then crosses the North Topsail Bridge.
Images for kids
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After Hurricane Fran in 1996, a search and rescue team checks damaged homes in North Topsail Beach.
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An observation tower on Topsail Island, left over from Operation Bumblebee.
