HISTORY
Mythical Treasure Rumors of buried gold persist around Topsail Island, and the best documented story of a search for it occurred before World War II.
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BY EDWARD WILLS
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MISSILES AND MORE MUSEUM
Is there gold from a shipwreck waiting to be found on Topsail Island? Or was it, as some believe, dug up by treasure hunters who then mysteriously disappeared into the night? Or was it never there? No one knows for sure. But we do know this: After being driven far off course in a 1750 hurricane, sailors in a Spanish armada of five vessels were tossed about in the Atlantic Ocean before being smashed against Topsail Island. One of the vessels, El Salvadore, was carrying 240,000 silver coins and other treasure. Centuries later, treasure hunters thought they knew where it was buried — at a site just south of the Surf City town line. A syndicate of New York of investors known as Carolina Expedition Company searched for that treasure from 1937 to 1941. They erected a large, A-frame derrick and winch to dig through the sand. Sifting debris carefully as they went, they eventually dug a hole that was 40 feet deep and 4 feet wide.
Carolina Expedition Company searched for treasure on the beach near present-day Surf City from 1937 to 1941. They erected a large, A-frame derrick and winch to dig through the sand and then sifted through the debris.
Spring 2022
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