Interesting Island History!

Topsail Island

Welcome to beautiful Topsail Island, 26 miles of white, sandy beaches, cool ocean breezes, maritime forests, peace and tranquility. Topsail Island is tucked below Camp Lejeune Marine Base along North Carolina’s southern outer banks midway between Cape Lookout and Cape Fear. The island has an interesting history of uses and occupations before it was developed as a resort area with three distinct towns.

Topsail Island’s history parallels that of America, with evidence of prehistoric Indian villages in the area dating back thousands of years. If you think you see an arrowhead, you may actually be right! Beachcombers sometimes find artifacts from the Tucscarora Indians who made hunting trips to Topsail in the 1700’s.

Written records describing Topsail Island begin with early explorers in the 1500’s who sailed up the protected inland waterways along the Carolina coast noting its abundant seafood beds. According to local legend, these same sounds and inlets were used by daredevil swashbucklers in the 1600-1700’s to careen their ships and for hiding holes from which to prey on passing merchant ships.

As the freighters became wise to this ploy, they began watching for the tops of the pirates’ sails showing over the dunes. Hence the name Topsail, pronounced “topsul,” was given to the island, at least according to legend. It is easier to find references to an original 1950s developer declaring the island’s name to be Topsail Island.

Undoubtedly, notorious pirates such as Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet roamed these dunes and waters regularly. Legend holds that treasure is still buried here, although Blackbeard probably spent it before the loot ever had a chance to be buried.

In the 1800’s a salt works that produced salt for meat preservation during the Civil War was situated on Sloop Point. At this time, and until the late 1940s, the only way to get to Topsail Island was over sand bars and shallows at low tide. There were no settlements, only fishermen who set up camps and farmers who ran their livestock across from the mainland to graze on Topsail.

It was not until the 1940’s and World War II that civilization as we know it came to Topsail Island. Holly Ridge was chosen as the site for Camp Davis, which became an overnight (though short-lived) boomtown. After the war, the island was chosen as the test site for Navy guided missiles under Operation Bumblebee. Because of the important developments that occurred here, Topsail Island became to jet flight development what Kitty Hawk is to propeller flight.

Some 200 experimental missiles were launched here, resulting in the proven success of the ramjet engine which could push an aircraft past the speed of sound. The concrete towers you see scattered about the island were observation posts for the project. This project also brought the construction of a pontoon bridge at what is now Surf City, followed by electricity, artesian wells, and roads. The 20th century had arrived!

When the military left in 1948, permanent residential development began on Topsail Island. Surf City incorporated in 1949, followed by Topsail Beach in 1963 and North Topsail Beach in 1990. But, Topsail Island’s several thousand permanent residents have maintained the simple, island lifestyle built around their small coastal communities that was the island’s magnetic draw from the beginning.

From marsh to surf, arrowheads to sand dollars, oysters to bluefish, Topsail’s treasures are bountiful. Relax here and savor life’s natural pleasures on this gem of the Treasure Coast.

Topsail Beach

Topsail Beach, located on the southern end of Topsail Island between Surf City and New Topsail Inlet, is a small, seaside community with a quaint shopping district and uncrowded beaches.

As you meander through town, you will probably notice several three-story, concrete structures with no characteristics of beach architecture. These are the observation towers of Operation Bumblebee, the post-World War II research-and-development project for Navy guided missiles. The theory proven by Operation Bumblebee seeded the technology of our national space program. Rockets were launched from the pad that has now become the patio of a local motel! The Assembly Building on Channel Boulevard was built to assemble rockets tested during the 1940’s project. It is now the Topsail Island Museum and community center, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Two of the island’s biggest annual events are headquartered in Topsail Beach: the King Mackerel Tournament in August and the Autumn with Topsail celebration in September.

Shopping here is a pleasant pastime, as is dining out. For family fun, take the kids miniature golfing or grab a fishing rod and surf cast near the inlet. You’ll catch a variety of fish from spot to flounder!

The beach is beautiful, with plenty of room for building sand castles, strolling or just frolicking. On a clear day or night, you can see all the way to Wrightsville Beach. Catch an early sunrise over the ocean or a dazzling sunset over the sound. Every member of the family will make memories in Topsail Beach!

Surf City Incorporated in 1949, Surf City was the first official municipality on Topsail Island and remains its commercial center. This relaxed beach town is Topsail Island’s hub of shopping and entertainment variety.

Driving down NC Hwy. 210 from North Topsail, you parallel beautiful beaches as you pass oceanside vacation cottages and soundside marinas. Entering town via NC Hwy. 50, you cross the Intracoastal Waterway over one of the last swing bridges in North Carolina, sort of a working antique.

What Surf City lacks in sheer volume, it makes up in quality. The friendly, independent gift and art shops offer many locally crafted or inspired items with very competitive prices and the opportunity to find something out of the ordinary.

Dining out is a pleasure here. Fine restaurants offer diners a wide array of fare from superb local seafood to pizza, Italian, gourmet, home-cooking, subs and burgers.

Surf City also has convenient supermarkets, nightclubs that bring live music to island evenings, and many choices of family entertainment. The kids love the miniature golf course, the public playground, and the island’s only water slide, all in Surf City. Everything for surf sports can be bought or rented here from boogie boards to surf boards and wind surfers. And the fishing can’t be beat, in the surf or at area piers. Bring the family and expect the best vacation yet in Surf City, the heart of the Treasure Coast! For more information about Surf City, please refer to the Town of Surf City website.

Sneads Ferry The traditional fishing village of Sneads Ferry is located on the New River near the northern tip of Topsail Island off NC Hwy. 172. The river joins the Intracoastal Waterway at Sneads Ferry and access to the Atlantic Ocean is easy. A very active commercial fishing community, Sneads Ferry takes in more fish than any other Onslow County port. In 1725 Edmund Ennett was granted the first license to operate a ferry in the area, an important link for postal delivery between Virginia and South Carolina, and for news of Revolutionary War battles in the 1770’s. The village is believed to have been first settled in 1775, making it the oldest settlement in Onslow County which is one of North Carolina’s oldest counties, established in 1734. The ferry operated for more than 200 years. In 1939, it was replaced by a wooden bridge. Today, the bridge is a new high-rise span.

Originally known as Lower Ferry, Sneads Ferry was renamed in honor of attorney Robert Snead when he became the new ferry operator in 1760. Snead himself has an interesting history. He shot and killed Revolutionary War hero George W. Mitchell in the heat of a political argument. After being tried and convicted, Snead received a full pardon from Governor Richard Dobbs Spaight. There was speculation that the pardon was achieved dishonestly. Life hummed along quietly until World War II when Camp LeJeune was established just north of Sneads Ferry. In 1971 the Snead’s Ferry Community Council was organized and the annual Sneads Ferry Shrimp Festival was first celebrated. Now grown to a two-day event, the annual shrimp festival is the town’s major fund-raiser. From its proceeds, the town established a 14-acre community park and built a 7200-sq. ft. Shrimp Festival Community Building. Fire and rescue headquarters are also on site.

Shrimp and seafood lovers never miss the Sneads Ferry Shrimp Festival each August. It’s a lively weekend family celebration of fishing heritage with music, plenty of delicious seafood, crafts, and a parade. It’s a total community effort and lots of fun.

Charter boats and headboat fishing is available from Sneads Ferry as well as horseback riding, shopping, one of the Onslow County public libraries, marinas and great seafood restaurants. Sneads Ferry’s easy-going atmosphere, fishing activity and history make it an interesting place to visit and a wonderful destination for seafood