There is so much more to Pilot Mountain State Park than meets the eye. This 1.6-billion-year old Registered Natural Landmark has been called a natural curiosity for centuries. In 1823, a University of North Carolina professor visited
and described the mountain as looking like a “magnificent temple” in the form of a triangle. In 1944, after two years of botanical research on the mountain, a Duke University professor commented in a journal article on the “almost perfect
pyramid” aspect of Pilot Mountain. To this very day geologists are puzzled by Pilot Mountain’s unique rock structure.
Do you see the similarity between the Easter Island Moai statues and the Pilot Mountain stone face? Is that just a coincidence, or maybe your mind is making order out of chaos? This book captures the history, myths, legends, and lore surrounding Pilot Mountain. Learn about amazing features not shared with the general public. Become an expert guide on this unique landscape as you travel your intriguing journey into its deep mysteries!
Faces of Pilot Mountain was selected on February 6, 2025 by a committee to be included and cataloged to become part of the history of the State of North Carolina in the Government & Heritage Library in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Faces of Pilot Mountain was selected on May 13, 2025 to be in the Library of Congress collection in Washington, D.C.
Book homepage: www.facesofpilotmountain.com
J.P. McKelvey is a Hillsborough, N.C., based writer/photographer. From 1978 to 1992 he worked as a cub reporter for the Ypsilanti Press in Ypsilanti, Michigan, then was hired as a stringer for the international business entertainment publication Variety under the byline Kelv in New York City, New York, the Detroit Free Press in Detroit, Michigan, Metro Detroit News in Detroit, Michigan., The FACE in London, England and U Magazine in New York City, N.Y., as a professional writer. His photographs have been published in the Raleigh News & Observer, No Depression Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine, and CMT Television. Over 4,500 of his images are stored in the Wilson Library as part of the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. 150 of those images are on display online in the "James McKelvey Collection" with the rest only seen in person at the library.