What NC town was Mayberry modeled after?

Mayberry was based on Andy Griffith's hometown- Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Andy Griffith has said many times in interviews that Mayberry IS NOT based on Mount Airy or any other NC town. He says Mayberry is a purely fictitious town made up by himself and the show's producers.
I think people in Mount Airy claim Mayberry is based on their town so they can attract tourist.

I have never seen Mr. Griffith speak to this issue. I also have never seen Mount Airy make this claim. Do you have any cites for these statements?

From the show we know that Mayberry is about 60 miles from Raliegh and 12 miles from Mount Pilot. If we assume that "Mount Pilot" is actually "Pilot Mountain", we will find that Mount Airy is one of the few towns that can meet both constraints. This, together with it being Andy Griffith's home town are the usual arguments presented to bolster the claim the Mayberry is based on Mount Airy.

But if you take a look at Mount Airy, there is very little similiarity. There is no Mount Airy sheriff for instance. Mount Airy is served by the Surry County Sheriffs office. And for that matter, the North Carolina Constitution (http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/STGOVT/CONST4.HTM#VII) specifies that sheriffs are County officials. No town in North Carolina has a sheriff.

This is the kind of trouble that arises when you try to map a sitcom into reality...it just won't fit.

Here is the Mount Airy News (http://www.mtairynews.com/). Read it and see how close to Mayberry it seems.

[This message has been edited by Perderabo (edited 09-25-2000).]

One interview I recall was on a TNN special, "Ralph Emery On the Record With Andy Griffith". It appear about two years ago. Andy flatly stated in that interview that many people believe that Mayberry is based on Mt. Airy because it is his hometown but he says that is only a rumor. I have heard him say the same thing in other interviews. I don't know why he would continue to say that if it weren't true. I aggree that Andy and the shows producers didn't intend to base Mayberry on Mt. Airy. However if I were helping to create a fictional town for a TV show, and the town was to be similar in size and location to the town I grew up in, my childhood experiences would probably influence my creation. I think what Andy means is that the characters in Mayberry were not based on people from his hometown.

The Mt. Airy Chamber of Commerce all but claims Mt. Airy is Mayberry. There are several businesses in the town that have adopted Mayberry in there names. ( See www.mayberrycoffee.com/main.html (http://www.mayberrycoffee.com/main.html) ) There are also several tourist attractions in the city that have been setup to attract Mayberry fans. I suppose it doesn't hurt for people to think of Mt. Airy as Mayberry. It sure doesn't hurt their economy. After all it is Andy Griffith's hometown.

As for the sheriff thing. Mayberry is the county seat of Mayberry County. Apparently it is the only town in the county. Technically, Andy Taylor is the sheriff of Mayberry County. If he were not a county official he would not have jurisdiction outside of the town. There are several episode where Andy is call to enforce the law outside of town. 40 or 50 years ago in many rural NC counties, it would not be unusual for a sheriff's department to be the only law agency for the whole county including towns in that county, especially the county seat. Many small towns could not afford to have it's own police officer. So in a town like Mayberry, (if it were real) the county sheriff would also be the sheriff of the town. Mt. Airy is the county seat of Surry County. So in Andy Griffith's boyhood days I'm sure the county's sheriff was the law officer for Mt. Airy.

My point is, although Andy may say Mayberry is not Mt. Airy, it is very close. It is probably as close as we will ever get.

There's an Aunt B's Cafe in Mt. Airy. Just a little something you all might want to know.

I have never seen Mr. Griffith speak to this issue. I also have never seen Mount Airy make this claim. Do you have any cites for these statements?

From the show we know that Mayberry is about 60 miles from Raliegh and 12 miles from Mount Pilot. If we assume that "Mount Pilot" is actually "Pilot Mountain", we will find that Mount Airy is one of the few towns that can meet both constraints. This, together with it being Andy Griffith's home town are the usual arguments presented to bolster the claim the Mayberry is based on Mount Airy.

But if you take a look at Mount Airy, there is very little similiarity. There is no Mount Airy sheriff for instance. Mount Airy is served by the Surry County Sheriffs office. And for that matter, the North Carolina Constitution (http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/STGOVT/CONST4.HTM#VII) specifies that sheriffs are County officials. No town in North Carolina has a sheriff.

This is the kind of trouble that arises when you try to map a sitcom into reality...it just won't fit.

Here is the Mount Airy News (http://www.mtairynews.com/). Read it and see how close to Mayberry it seems.

[This message has been edited by Perderabo (edited 09-25-2000).]

The age old questions of how does Mayberry relate to the real world, interesting details not mentioned much, in this post.