The Blue Ridge Parkway

Winner of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award!

For 469 miles the Blue Ridge Parkway follows the crests of ridges and mountains on a ribbon-like course through some of the nation's most spectacular scenery. Each year millions of visitors travel this "pleasure parkway," marveling at its breathtaking vistas and sensing the rich lore of a rugged wilderness that for centuries kept its mountaineer residents isolated. 

Few visitors recognize, however, the dramatic achievements that the parkway represents. In the beginning intense political infighting, on all levels of government, jeopardized the vision of a new kind of road. But once the future of the parkway was secure, planners and construction engineers were faced with unique guidelines: build for pleasure, not speed; be careful with nature, leave no ugly scars; and retain rustic settings but provide modern conveniences and maximum recreational opportunities.

All of this—the attractions and the colorful history—are a part of the total parkway story, told here by historian Harley E. Jolley, a specialist in the interpretation of pioneer history of the parkway area. His account is a sensitive interpretation of the origins, development, and beauty of a road that has been described as the most scenic in America.

Dr. Harley E. Jolley (1920–2020), widely known as "Mr. Blue Ridge Parkway," was a distinguished professor of history at Mars Hill College where he taught from 1949 through his retirement in 1991. He served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 and the US Army Air Corps. Jolley survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and served in Normandy, celebrating VE Day in Paris. Under the GI Bill, Jolley received a bachelor's degree in history from Appalachian State Teachers College and went on to earn a master's from the University of Tennessee. He was awarded North Carolina's Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2008.