Faces of Pilot Mountain by J.P. McKelvey

The 1.6-billion-year-old Pilot Mountain appears like a sailing ship on the ocean in the Piedmont of North Carolina. This landmark has been dubbed the "great guide." From the top of the Big Pinnacle at Pilot Mountain State Park you can see an unobstructed view of three thousand square miles. It was an important smoke signal location during the day and fire beacon at night for the twelve Native American tribes of North Carolina known to traverse the region.
This recognized Natural National Landmark has been called a Natural Curiosity.

Things you will learn and view with both modern and historic images in this book:

1. You will take a fascinating private guided tour of the mountain with the grandchildren of the last owner of the mountain, Pearle Beasley, for the entire first chapter of the book.
2. Pilot Mountain State Park features a pyramid from one perspective that is roughly three times the size of the Great Pyramid in Giza. It might be the only pyramid on earth where you can drive your car most of the way to the apex, walk a short distance and then place your hands on the nearly pure crystal top. Many visitors have been on the pyramid without realizing it but one university professor wrote about it in 1823 and another in 1944 detailed in the book. The pyramid aspect of Pilot Mountain State Park is a fascinating seemingly hidden feature.
3. Stone faces are found on nearly all the trails of Pilot Mountain State Park. Some are so large they can only be seen from nearly a mile away. Is it the Mt. Rushmore of the Native American Mound Culture that descriptively called it Stonehead Mountain in the severely repressed oral history of this landscape? The name given on the first detailed map of the area by Fry and Jefferson in 1753, was both Mt. Ararat and the descriptive term, Stonehead Mountain.
4. There is an interesting phenomena that happens at sunset on the equinox that reminds the viewer of the stairway shadow of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan.
5. Journals written within a dozen miles of the mountain since 1753 were published in German and are now available in English. They describe the Pilot Mountain State Park neighborhood well and make up the entire second chapter of the book.
6. The interesting lives and unique stories of the previous private owners of Pilot Mountain are featured in the book.
7. Do you know the card game, "Seven Up"? That game plays an important role in the history of Pilot Mountain State Park.
8. This book is rather unique since it is based on observations by a wide variety of people specifically about Pilot Mountain over the past 270 years who are quoted directly unfiltered. Yes, Andy Griffith was born very near to the mountain and some say his fictionalized Mount Pilot was based on Pilot Mountain.

If you are one of the travelers who have gone by this amazing landmark your entire life wondering about it with each pass on U.S. Route 52, this book is for you. These pages will help orient you and point out amazing features to look for on your first visit. Just the first chapter will inform you enough to be a private guide for your family and friends, and there is so much more in the rest of the book. You will appreciate the spiritual beauty and ancestry of this beloved North Carolina landmark.

Begin your journey into its deep mysteries by reading the book and then visiting Pilot Mountain State Park in person