Topsail Island/Hampstead A bit north of Wilmington lies Topsail Island, a 26-mile long sanctuary for turtles and humans, rich with history and ready to welcome visitors of all ages and interests. Known as “Top-sul” to the locals, the island sits just beyond the quaint mainland community of Hampstead. Story by Pat Fontana
PHOTO BY ADAM HAWLEY
TOPSAIL ISLAND/ HAMPSTEAD
TOPSAIL’S ENCHANTED HISTORY Topsail Island is home to Topsail Beach, Surf City and North Topsail Beach, three distinctly different towns, each with plenty to do, see and enjoy throughout the year. The island boasts an intriguing history, dating back to the adventures of the seas in the 1500s. As the story goes, pirate ships lurked off the coast waiting for merchant vessels to pass through the area. Often, only their top sails were visible from
the island, so the name stuck. While the legend may or may not be true, the island does still have an extensive and fascinating history. Pirates associated with the island include the infamous Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet, along with a pirate named Sears who established a trading post on the mainland. Sears also operated a pole barge for ferrying people to the island. His trading post and ferry landing are now known as Sears Landing. More recently, the U.S. Navy took
over the island to launch Operation Bumblebee, a secret guided missile testing program that lasted from 1946 to 1948. The main concept for today’s supersonic flights was tested and proven on Topsail Island. Many of the missile observation towers used by the Navy can still be seen on the beaches. Roads, a fresh water supply, a bridge and other improvements were made as the military directed research operations from nearby Camp Davis in Holly Ridge on the mainland.
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