|
Edward
Teach, known as Blackbeard, Stede Bonnett and Captain Kidd
were known to ravage the North Carolina coast and operated
near the island. Topsail Inlet and Topsail Sound took their
names from merchant ship Captains who warned their lookouts
to be on the alert for topsails visible behind the high
dunes on the island from pirate ships lying in ambush.
So,
did Topsail Island get its name because of the pirates that
frequented the area? No.
There's
no doubt that Blackbeard and Bonnet were in the area of
Topsail Inlet and Topsail Sound, even though a 1747
map puts Topsail Inlet near Cape Lookout, 30 miles away,
and an 1808 map puts the inlet at Beaufort Harbor.
But,
it wasn't named Topsail Island until 1971 by Edward Yow,
an early developer. Before that it had been called, at various
times, The Banks, Ashe Island, Sand Spit, Sears Landing
and, sometimes, Long Island.
In
the 1930's, many men came over and dug a big hole in the
island. They were looking for something, but wouldn't say
what. They excavated, shored and braced, worked a crew long
and hard, then, just as suddenly, they were gone.
Was
it buried treasure? Did they find it? Why did they leave
so suddenly? No one knows.
But
the big treasure hunt wasn't for pirate treasure, it was
to recover lost treasure from a Spanish galleon wrecked
near Topsail Inlet in August 1750.
The
Army Moves In
During
WW II the Army moved their antiaircraft artillery school
to the new Army camp on the island (Camp Davis) and set
up their gunnery practice areas at Sears Landing, near the
pontoon ferry to the island.
Coastal
defense guns were set up on the beachfront and the gunners
could practice firing at targets towed offshore by small
boats.
Camp
Davis was built up almost overnight. Construction started
the day after Christmas in 1940 and the first troops moved
in five months later, in April 1941. Then the war ended,
and just as quickly as the base built up, it emptied.
And
Then Came the Navy
Camp
Davis sprang to life again when the Navy took charge June
1, 1946, after the war, because they needed a remote area
for their secret rocket experiments, known as the Bumblebee
project.
The
Navy Bureau of Ordnance and John Hopkins University Applied
Physics Laboratory built camera towers, roads, buildings,
and a revised pontoon bridge for the secret missile test
facility.
On
this 26 mile beach test range, some 200 experimental rockets
were fired from 1947 to 1948.
Missile
experiments on Topsail Island led to the development of
technology used in 'Talos', a shipborne system. 'Talos'
used a solid fuel booster first stage to accelerate the
second stage to the critical velocity required by the ramjet
second stage.
Look
around and you can't miss seeing several odd-shaped white
concrete buildings, and some other large buildings. Many
of today's buildings on Topsail Island were built from lumber
that had been used in base buildings.
You
can see Topsail history come alive at the Topsail Island
Missiles
and More Museum located in the Assembly Building
at 720 Channel Boulevard at Topsail Beach.
Missile
Observation Towers
There
were eight towers in all. The one between the Assembly Building
and the launchpad (now the patio at the Jolly Roger Inn)
was the control tower. The other towers held cameras and
telemetering equipment used to track the flight of the missile.
A
couple of these towers have now been made into very attractive
homes, one on the beachfront and another overlooking the
sound. Click
here to see the towers as they today and see how
many you can find around the island.
Submarines
Here?
Even
though most of World War II was fought in Europe and the
Pacific, some of the fighting was done right here in North
Carolina?
Wilmington's
shipyards produced "Liberty" ships throughout
the war, and the port was important to the war effort.
Here
is a list of some known wrecks in Onslow Bay from that time:
•
U-352, 218' German Submarine sunk by the "Icarus"
•
Empire Gem, 463' tanker torpedoed by U-66, Jan 23, 1943
•
Dixie Arrow, 468' tanker torpedoed by U-71, Mar 26, 1942
•
E M Clark, 516' tanker torpedoed by U-124, Mar 18, 1942
•
Malachace, 334' freighter torpedoed by U-160, Apr 9, 1942
•
Manuela, 394' freighter torpedoed by U-404, Jun 24, 1942
•
Far East Tanker, 435' tanker torpedoed by U-552, Apr 9,
1942
•
D Wreck, 251' freighter torpedoed by U-158, Mar 11, 19??
•
Atlas Tanker, 430' tanker torpedoed by U-552, Apr 9, 1942
•
Ashkabad, 401' Russian freighter torpedoed by U-402, May
3, 1942
•
Papoose, 412' tanker torpedoed by U-124, Mar 23, 1942
•
Naeco, 412' tanker torpedoed by U-124, Mar 23, 1942
•
W E Hutton, 435' tanker torpedoed by U-124, Mar 18, 1942
•
Esso Nashville, 445' tanker torpedoed by U-124, Mar 21,
1942
You
can find out much more about the US Navy and German submarines
that navigated North Carolina's coastline at http://www.uboat.net.
The
Good Ol' Days
This
is the way to remember the wonderful old days at the beach.
No air conditioning, no SPF suntan lotion. No rest areas
on the Interstate. Heck, no Interstate.
And
where were the public beach restrooms, showers?
Life
wasn't simpler, just different complexities. Click
here to see old photos of some of the buildings
from the past. Some are still around. See if you recognize
them as you drive around the island.
Topsail
Now
Cross
the bridge to Topsail Island and the adventure begins.
Whether
your looking for Treasures
in the Sand or a great tan, you'll find fun in the
sun at Topsail Island.
|
