Top Secret Historical Walking Tour of Topsail Beach Preview

This building was built in 1946 as the center of the Top Secret Project, Operation Bumblebee, to develop a supersonic guided missile for the Navy. It was dubbed Operation Bumblebee because bumblebees are not aerodynamically designed to fly. The ramject engine, which is the basis for all our jet transportation, was developed here. The test engines were "assembled" here and carried to the launch site up the street.

Now go around to the back of the Assembly Building and view Banks Channel and learn about the pirates.

This inlet was a hiding place for pirates during the late 1600s and early 1700s. On maps dating back to 1774 this inlet was named New Topsail Inlet and Topsail Sound. The legends say that the merchant ships traveling in the ocean would look over the maritime forest for the tops of the sails of the pirate ships with the hope of outrunning the pirates. Another legend says that Blackbeard buried his gold on Topsail Island. Nothing has ever been found.

The island was not named Topsail Island until 1947. Before 1947, it was called The Banks or The Sand Spit.

Beyond the small islands you see in front of you is the Intracoastal Waterway which runs 3,000 miles from New England to Texas and was completed in 1949. Some of the islands were built from the sand dredged and deposited there during the dredging of the Intracoastel Waterway.

At this corner was a group of buildings of which only the smallest building remains. The "Bumblebee" barracks and mess hall and repair shop were originally connected as the Breez-way Inn and Cafe.

The picture is from 1952.

Looking at the original picture, why do you think it was named The Breezeway?

From the Breezeway, walk toward the ocean to the Town Center Park.

This was once the site of the small colorful cement block Florida Apartments where visitors and fisherman spent many years on vacation. Rooms were named after Florida towns. They survived from the 1950s to 2008.

Across the street you will find the building that the first developer of Topsail Beach, J. G. Anderson, built. He purchased the lower end of Topsail Island which consisted of about 1.5 miles of property. He purchased the property for about $40,000 from Helen Bridgers and Evelyn Empie. Have you seen streets with the names of these 3 persons?
In 1973 the building became the home of The Gift Basket.

This building was built in 1959 and was Warren's Soda Shop, the first soda fountain on the Island. Soda "jerks", named because they jerked the handle which dispensed the soda water, made a variety of ice cream drinks. Patent drugs were also sold there. The first building which housed Warren's Soda Shop in the early 1950s was destroyed in Hurricane Hazel in 1954. It was across the street from today's Town Hall.

The soda shop was a local hangout for youth and everyone wanted to work there.

Now the Beach Shop and Grill is a popular restaurant for locals and visitors.

When each missile was launched, the eight towers built up the beach monitored infomation about the missile: speed, direction, height, length of trip, etc. All that information was fed back into the Control Tower.

Triangulation of the photo equipment from the towers would record the flights over 10-20 miles at speeds of 1,500 mph. Topsail Island is 26 miles long and was perfect for missiles traveling 10-20 miles.

Now the Control Tower is a private residence.

This putt-putt and arcade was built in the mid 1950s and remains a popular place for residents and visitors. It has not changed much in the past 60 years.

This was Missile Tower #1 and has been made into a private residence using the tower as the base of the building. Can you see which part of the building was the original tower?

Please be respectful as this is a private residence.

Going south (if you choose to extend your tour) is the Emma Anderson Memorial Chapel, a non-denominational church First services were held in 1951. Different ministers preach each Sunday and use the parsonage during the week.

This is now the site of the Topsail Beach Town Hall. At this site was once a gasoline station. Across Anderson Blvd is the site of the original Warren's Soda Shop which was destroyed during Hurricane Hazel in 1954.

Sonny and Doris Jenkins built the post office and skating rink in 1963. Doris is still the Post Master. The skating rink is a popular place for youth and adults. Nothing has changed much since 1963.

This building was built in 1949-50 and housed the first general store. It was built by William Bland and later sold to the Godwin family. The Godwins managed the store until the death of Mary Godwin in 2020.

You have now concluded your walking tour presented by the Historical Society of Topsail Island. We hope you enjoyed learning about our small town which began with missile testing of Operation Bumblebee in 1946. Thank you for participating in our tour.

Please consider leaving a review so that others can learn about the history of Topsail Island.

We encourage you to visit the Missiles and More Museum housed inside the assembly building, to learn more about our important history or visit the website at missilesandmoremuseum.org to learn more,

The Historical Society of Topsail Island is a non-profit organization and donations are graciously accepted to help us continue our work of preservation.

Your donation keeps history alive!

We are able to promote our mission through collections, exhibits, public education programs and scholarships.

Your donation ensures that we are able to preserve, maintain and improve our Historic Assembly Building and the Missiles & More Museum.

To make a donation to the Historical Society of Topsail Island, go to topsailhistoricalsociety.org/donate or make a donation to the Missiles and More Museum, go to https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML9NXA7A54SNJ/checkout/WBZVGWVGBBQNESVIOU4MCYI7?src=webqr