Pilot Mountain North Carolina
“Heart of the Yadkin Valley”
Town of Pilot Mountain NC
Pilot Mountain is located in Surry County North Carolina in the Piedmont region. Standing tall out of the lower Piedmont landscape Pilot Mountain is a 2,421-foot remnant of the Sauratown Mountains. The Saura Indians, the region’s earliest known inhabitants, called the mountain “Jomeokee”, meaning “great guide”. This small mountain town has a variety of things to offer visitors to the area; such as a vineyard, library, community center, parks, recreational facilities, and a wide array of natural outdoor recreational resources.
Pilot Mountain has two distinctive features, named Big and Little Pinnacle. Visitors can take a paved road to the park visitor center and campgrounds, then up to a parking lot on the ridge. Trails from there allow access to the main Little Pinnacle Overlook and other viewing stations.
History of Pilot Mountain NC
The earliest known inhabitants in the Pilot Mountian NC region were the Saura, or Cheraw, people which came from present day Asheville, and settled in the region near the Dan River and Sauratown Mountains. Pilot Mountain, which lends its name to the town, is a remnant of the Sauratown Mountains. The Saura people knew the mountain as Jomeokee meaning Great Guide or Pilot. In 1710, the Saura abandoned their villages in the Pilot Mountain region. The paths used by ancient Native American tribes became the Great Wagon Road, used by 18th century colonist to travel and settle further South. On the Great Wagon Road, Jomeokee or Pilot served as a landmark for German Moravian settlers traveling to their new home of der Wachua, or Wachovia, present day Winston-Salem. Wachovia quickly became an established urban center and led to further settlement of the Piedmont region including the Town of Pilot Mountain.
The Piedmont region, including Pilot Mountain, was inhabited mainly by subsistence farmers, with smaller farms, with few or no slaves. The fertile land provided excellent sites for mills, farms, and especially the growth of tobacco. As settlement continued, towns grew and trade routes developed from the small farms in Pilot Mountain to export centers. The fast moving, deep rivers east of the Piedmont region did not allow for easy access to the ports of coastal North Carolina, so trade routes from the Piedmont went to Virginia. As time passed, this was remedied and the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley railroad was constructed from the Atlantic port of Wilmington to Mount Airy, passing through Pilot Mountain. With the completion of the railroad in 1888, the depot became a center of commercial and social activity. The railroad gave rise to the growth of Pilot Mountain, and created the need for an organized local government. March 9, 1889, the Act of Incorporation for the Town of Pilot Mountain was adopted.
- Little Pinnacle
- Big Pinnacle
- Jomeokee Trail
- Ledge Spring Trail
- Sassafras trail
- Grindstone Trail
- Grassy Ridge Trail
