[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 129 (Thursday, July 31, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         PILOT MOUNTAIN STATE PARK CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY

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                           HON. VIRGINIA FOXX

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 2008

  Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the 40th 
anniversary of Pilot Mountain State Park in Surry County, North 
Carolina.
  Pilot Mountain rises above the North Carolina Piedmont to a height of 
2,421 feet and has been a local landmark since the first settlers came 
to the region. It's been said that climbers can see more than 3,000 
square miles of beautiful North Carolina country from the peak when 
skies are clear.
  The mountain received the name Pilot Mountain in 1753 and the State 
of North Carolina designated the mountain a State park in 1968. Before 
becoming North Carolina's 14th State park, it was privately owned and 
changed hands many times.
  Pilot Mountain is a distinctive and beautiful piece of North 
Carolina's natural heritage. Its peak, a bald crop of quartzite, stands 
in stark contrast to the farmland and wooded areas that surround it.
  According to local lore, the Saura Indian tribe employed the mountain 
as a very intuitive guide to the outlying lands and it is their use of 
the mountain that may have contributed to its eventual naming.
  Today the Pilot Mountain State Park takes in more than 3,600 acres 
and attracts more than 400,000 visitors a year. It is undoubtedly one 
of North Carolina's greatest natural treasures and I join the county 
and State in celebrating 40 years of conservation and public enjoyment 
of this wonderful State park.

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