Topsail Island museum relives days of ‘Operation Bumblebee’

Remnants of the U.S. Navy’s super-secret “Operation Bumblebee” operation at North Carolina’s Topsail Island are being preserved for the purpose of retelling the stories about what happened along this 26-mile “spit of sand” in 1946-48.

After World War II, about 500 people were deployed to this desolate strip along the Atlantic Ocean to establish the U.S. Naval Ordnance Testing Facility. The mission was to conduct test firings of ramjet-powered guided missiles that could defend U.S. warships at sea.

About 200 experimental missiles were built in the assembly building, which has since been transformed into a community events center. The facility opened in 1995 and is now owned and operated by the Historical Society of Topsail Island.

 

This old assembly building in the Town of Topsail Beach contains about 3,300 square feet of usable space. It can accommodate a maximum of 250 people for any type of social function.

Additionally, the facility is home to the incredible Missiles & More Museum. Exhibits document all aspects of the significance of “Operation Bumblebee” and depict what life was like at the Army’s Camp Davis in nearby Holly Ridge, which operated from 1941-44.

 

Admission to the museum is free, but donations are appreciated. Hours vary depending on the season, so it’s best to check ahead at misslesandmoremusum.org or call (910) 328-8663.

 

The old launching pad was incorporated into the holdings of the Jolly Roger Inn & Pier in Topsail Beach and was once the resort’s patio. The former control tower has been transformed into a wing of a large private residence.

The most intriguing old structures from “Operation Bumblebee,” however, are the eight sturdy observation towers that were strategically located up and down the island. Private-sector scientists climbed up and photographed the missile launches. 

Some of these towers were repurposed over the years, while others have gradually deteriorated. The contrasts are quite amazing. Tower Four (shown below) is available as a vacation rental.

 

Topsail Island’s name is derived from the days when pirate ships would hide in the channel between the island and the mainland, hoping to capture passing merchant vessels. As word spread about this tactic, mariners supposedly began referring to the place as “Topsail Island,” because a pirate vessel’s topsail was often the only visible indicator of a planned ambush.

The Topsail Island town website says that many adventurers came in search of the buried treasures left by the most infamous pirate of all – Blackbeard. He was rumored to have hidden jewels, gold and silver in the maritime forests that blanketed Topsail Island. No one has found Blackbeard’s booty yet.

 

Visitors to the Missiles & More Museum can experience a new exhibit this year, titled “Historic Ocean City Beach,” which opened on April 20.

Ocean City Beach was established in 1949 as one of first communities in the state where African-Americans could purchase oceanfront property.

At the time, the Wilmington Star News reported that the idea of having a beach community with black ownership came from Edgar Lee Yow, a white Wilmington attorney and former mayor, who owned land on Topsail Island.

He shared his thoughts with Dr. Samuel Gray, a black physician from Jamaica, who had been recruited as one of the first two resident physicians to work at Community Hospital, which opened in 1920 in a former drug store to serve Wilmington’s African-American citizens.

Yow and Dr. Gray formed a business partnership to develop Ocean City Beach along a mile of Topsail Island. Dr. Gray knew the ideal person to manage the project – his friend Wade Chestnut, who ran an automobile repair shop in Wilmington.