Dykeman Waldron Baily was a businessman and writer. His novel The Heart of the Blue Ridge was adapted into a silent film. Baily established Baily Manufacturing Company, a locust wood pin and cross arm manufacturing business in Elkin, North Carolina. He also owned the Baily Chair Company. Many of his books are set in North Carolina locations including Bogue Banks, North Carolina's Piedmont region and Wilkes County, North Carolina.