I Visited The 'Real Mayberry'
You know you are in “Mayberry” when you see the sheriff’s car parked on Main Street. This is Mount Airy, North Carolina. Andy Griffith’s hometown. While the Andy Griffith show wasn’t actually filmed here, the town is said to be the inspiration for the set where it was actually shot. The show was in production for eight years.
The town takes advantage of its celeb. There are signs of the show’s characters everywhere you turn. Here, for example, is a café named after Barney Fife.
And the Mayberry Trading Post makes it clear where you are in case you just wandered into town not knowing!
Throughout Mount Airy’s downtown business district are guitar statues. I had to take a photo of this one, of course, because it has Andy’s image.
In keeping with the theme of the town, a throwback to another time when Coca Cola was just 5 cents a bottle.
Of course no trip to “Mayberry” would be complete without a visit to Floyd’s Barber Shop.
Andy wasn’t the only famous person to hail from Mount Airy. Music legends Tommy Jarrell, Benton Flippen and Donna Fargo are from Mount Airy as well. Bluegrass singers and songwriters the Easter Brothers, too.
Pro tip: Mount Airy is a great place to spend a few hours but isn’t actually a destination. But its small businesses depend on tourism to stay a float so spending some money in the shops and restaurants is, I’m sure, much appreciated.
All photos copyright Gary Baumgarten.
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