Waldron Baily (1871–1953), born Dykeman Waldron Baily, was an American businessman, novelist, and public servant active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in Mount Kisco, New York, Baily later relocated to North Carolina, where he established a deep personal and professional connection to the region. In Elkin, North Carolina, he became a prominent civic leader, serving as the town's mayor. His entrepreneurial ventures in the area included the Baily Chair Company and the Baily Manufacturing Company, a business specializing in the production of locust wood pins and cross arms.\n\nIn addition to his civic and industrial contributions, Baily was a dedicated writer of regional fiction. His novels drew heavy inspiration from the geography and culture of North Carolina, with narratives set in distinct locales such as Bogue Banks, Wilkes County, and the state's Piedmont region. Baily's most prominent literary achievement was his novel The Heart of the Blue Ridge, which garnered significant attention and was subsequently adapted into a silent motion picture. Through his writing, Baily captured the landscapes and local color of his adopted home state, leaving behind a distinct body of regional literature.
