Topsail Beach was first counted by the census in 1970, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
Most of Topsail Beach was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listings are the US Naval Ordnance Testing Facility Assembly Building, the US Naval Ordnance Testing Facility Control Tower and the US Naval Ordnance Testing Facility Observation Tower No. 2. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1970.
Local folklore claims the name, Topsail (pronounced Tops’l), originated during the 1700s when pirate ships, including Blackbeard, roamed the coastal waters. Historians explain that marauding pirates hid their ships in the channel behind the island and waited for passing merchant ships loaded with goods. The pirates would pursue and attack the merchants, claiming the cargoes as their own. Eventually, the merchants became aware of this infamous hiding place and began to watch for the tops of the pirates' sails showing over the rolling dunes - hence the name Topsail Island.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Topsail Beach.
1942Topsail sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Topsail Beach.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewSloop Point Plantation, U.S. Route 17, Holly Ridge Vicinity
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Topsail Beach’s page.
The Topsail Beach post office opened in 1970, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Topsail Beach?
Three places: the US Naval Ordnance Testing Facility Assembly Building (listed 1993), the US Naval Ordnance Testing Facility Control Tower (1993) and the US Naval Ordnance Testing Facility Observation Tower No. 2 (1993).
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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