‘Andy Griffith Show’ reenergizes real-life Mayberry in North Carolina

Fifty-five years after its final episode, “The Andy Griffith Show” is making more of an impact than ever on Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy.

The small city in the hills of Surry County, about 100 miles north of Charlotte, has a Main Street full of shops that celebrate the popular show, which went off the air April 1, 1968.

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The Andy Griffith Museum drew 65,000 fans for the fiscal year that ended June 30. The museum, which opened in 2009 and features a shirt Griffith wore as the sheriff of Mayberry, was drawing up to 75,000 fans before Covid, and is seeing crowds start to return.

“Tourism has become very significant,” says Tanya Jones, the executive director of the Surry Arts Council, which oversees the museum.

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VIDEO: Things to see and do in Surry County