"The roads and bridge were left intact and so began the development of the island." That sentence is from the Town of Topsail Beach's own history page. It describes what happened in 1948, when the Navy shut down its missile testing program and gave the island back to its original owners.
The building that holds the town's museum was put up to assemble rockets. A motel patio sits on the launch platform. Several houses along Anderson Boulevard started out as towers for tracking missiles. On Saturday, Oct. 31, the Historical Society of Topsail Island is running a free one-mile walk through this history, and the museum that tells the story will open for two hours that day even though it has closed for the season.
What the Navy built in a few months
Operation Bumblebee came after a different military use of the island. During World War II, Sears Landing on Topsail Island was an anti-aircraft firing point for troops at Camp Davis, and the Army closed that camp late in 1944. In 1946, the Navy brought about 500 people to the island and turned Sears Landing into the U.S. Naval Ordnance Testing Facility. It ran the program with the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University and the Kellex Corporation, a civilian contractor.
The state historical marker essay for "Missile Tests" (D-104) says that within months the team had built the following:
- an assembly building
- a control tower
- eight observation towers, each 35 feet tall on a concrete platform
- a pontoon bridge
- a launching platform
- a bombproof shelter
The goal was a jet-powered missile that could destroy an air target up to 20 miles away. The program got its name because the aerodynamic problems looked as impossible as a bumblebee in flight. The marker estimates that about 200 rockets were launched over 18 months, and the Town's history puts the number at more than 200. In 1948, the Navy moved the work to White Sands, New Mexico, and Cape Canaveral, Florida, because the weather was better there.
So the program lasted 18 months, but the buildings it left are still here almost 80 years later. When the Navy left, the people building a town took over a road, a bridge and a set of concrete structures that nobody was using.
What each structure became
Every piece of the test site was reused at least once. Most of them were reused by private owners for everyday purposes.
Navy structure, 1946 to 1948 | What it became | Source detail |
|---|---|---|
Assembly Building, Channel Blvd. and Flake Ave. | A building supply store, then a nightclub, now the Missiles and More Museum and a meeting center | State marker essay and Town history |
Launching platform | The patio of the Jolly Roger Motel | State marker essay and Town history |
Control tower | Converted into a family beach house in 1958 | Missiles and More tower reference |
Eight observation towers | Seven still stand. Some are private homes and one is part of a fishing pier | State marker essay |
Tower #8, the northernmost | Demolished in 1989 | Missiles and More tower reference |
Roads and bridge | Left in place, and island development started from them | Town history |
The towers went through the most changes. The tower reference document on the museum's site says Tower #7 became a 4,000-square-foot home around 1992, and the Ocean City Pier tower, Tower #6, now has a home built next to it rather than on top of it. The towers that became homes are private property. The same document notes that Tower #7 can't be seen from the street and is visible from the beach.
The two towers in Topsail Beach
Tower #1 and Tower #2 are both inside town limits, and they ended up very differently.
Tower #1 is on the sound side at 930 South Anderson Boulevard, where it meets Hines Avenue. A 1993 National Park Service description says a two-story addition was attached to the tower's southwest corner in 1949 and that modern windows had been put into the tower walls. The tower was bought in 1991 and rebuilt over the next several years. The concrete addition was torn down in 1995, and the renovation was finished one week before Hurricane Fran hit in 1996.
Tower #2 is the only one that was never altered. It stands on the sound side next to the Queen's Grant development, and a narrow channel separates it from the homes. The 1993 description calls it "a lone sentinel overlooking Topsail Sound," and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Historical Society has not published a stop-by-stop route for the Oct. 31 walk. Its announcement says the tour covers Operation Bumblebee and "other historic sites along the way," so don't expect any particular tower to be a stop.
Flake Avenue is still getting new public buildings
A lot of this history sits on one street. The Assembly Building is at Channel Boulevard and Flake Avenue. The D-104 marker stands at NC 50, which is Anderson Boulevard, at Flake Avenue. The marker was first cast in 1995.
Flake Avenue is still where the town puts its public buildings. On Sept. 24, the Town broke ground at 701 Flake Ave. on a $9.6 million Public Safety Building for its Police and Fire departments. It will be about 17,400 square feet, with covered parking at ground level and a bay for emergency vehicles. The Town has not announced a completion date.
The Navy put its rocket assembly building on this street in 1946, and the Town is now building its police and fire headquarters here. If you walk Flake Avenue on Halloween morning, you'll pass the oldest public building on the island and the site of the newest one.
Why Oct. 31 is a good day to go
The timing helps. The Historical Society's site listed the museum's regular hours as Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and its season ended Oct. 9. The museum's hours page now says "Closed for the Season!" Because the regular season runs only on weekdays, people who work during the week rarely get inside. The Halloween walk falls on a Saturday, and the museum will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ann Tumblin is a Historical Society member and created the tour. She told the Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce that the walk drew so many people when the society featured it during the 2023 Year of the Trail that it added a second day of tours that fall. "This year, we're doing the walk on Halloween. It will be spooktacular!" she said.
Here is what to know before you go:
- When: Saturday, Oct. 31. Tours leave at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon.
- Where: All tours leave from the Missiles and More Museum in the Historic Assembly Building at 720 Channel Blvd.
- Length: About one mile on paved routes, taking about an hour.
- Cost: Free. Space is limited, so register online and pick a time.
- Access: The route is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible. Only service dogs are allowed.
- Costumes: Welcome. Tumblin's only condition is that they not be "a tripping hazard." Everyone who attends gets a Halloween treat.
If you book the 10 a.m. tour, you should finish right around the time the museum opens at 11. If you book the noon tour, plan to go inside first, since the museum closes at 1 p.m.
Inside the museum while it's open
Before you go in, look for the full-size Talos guided missile outside. Inside, the Operation Bumblebee exhibit has model missiles, original missiles from the project and a film about the program. The museum says the principles of the controlled ramjet engine were tested and proven on Topsail Island.
Missiles and More also covers Camp Davis, Osprey aircraft, pirates and the natural history of the barrier island. It has a WASP exhibit about the women who were trained to fly U.S. military aircraft, with material on Camp Davis and on individual WASP pilots by name.
Other south end dates this fall
The Topsail Nature Preserve reopened on Oct. 7, including its beach and parking. It had been closed while crews treated invasive common reed. The state Division of Coastal Management took over the preserve in May 2026, as WECT reported, and has put up a page with visitor rules. The state says the Town will "soon" add more restrooms and an ADA-compliant ramp but hasn't given a date.
The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center isn't offering public tours in October. Its site lists guided tours on Nov. 27 through 29 and on Dec. 5 and 12. Tours require a reservation, and the gift shop is open during tour hours. The site doesn't list a year next to those dates, so confirm them with the center before you plan around them.
Many of Topsail Island's oldest structures have had more than one life: a rocket assembly building that became a store and a nightclub, a tracking tower that became a home just before Hurricane Fran. Neal Anderson at Lake to Coast Real Estate has construction experience and knows how older island buildings like these were adapted and what that means when one changes hands. If you'd like to talk through the history and condition of a Topsail Beach property, schedule a consultation.
