Mt. Airy in Surry County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

The Andy Griffith Show

Photographed by Michael C. Wilcox, April 14, 2012

1. The Andy Griffith Show Marker

Inscription. The Andy Griffith Show. A simpler time • a sweeter place • a lesson • a laugh • a father and a son.

Erected by the people of TV Land.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. A significant historical date for this entry is October 3, 1960.

Location. 36° 29.87′ N, 80° 36.52′ W. Marker is in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, in Surry County. It is on Rockford Street, on the right when traveling south. Located in front of the Andy Griffith Museum. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mount Airy NC 27030, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Piedmont.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Stoneman’s Raid (within shouting distance of this marker); Large Granite Millstone (within shouting distance of this marker); Surry County Veterans Memorial (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Historic Earle Theater (about 700 feet away); Easter Brothers (approx. 0.2 miles away); The J. C. Hollingsworth House (approx. 0.2 miles away); First Presbyterian Church of Mount Airy (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Susan Pendleton Ashby Memory Wall (approx. 0.2 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. The Andy Griffith Show. Wikipedia entry. “The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina.” (Submitted on July 4, 2012.)

2. Andy Griffith (1926–2012). Wikipedia Entry. “Andrew Samuel ‘Andy’ Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, television producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer.

The Andy Griffith Show Marker and Statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed by C. Ryan Dodson, October 18, 2025

2. The Andy Griffith Show Marker and Statue

A Tony Award nominee for two roles, he gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan’s film A Face in the Crowd (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead characters in the 1960–1968 situation comedy The Andy Griffith Show and in the 1986–1995 legal drama Matlock.’ (Submitted on July 4, 2012.)

3. ‘Mayberry’ remembers Andy Griffith. CNN news article and Larry King interview of Andy Griffith and Don Knotts. “Just a few miles south of the Virginia state line, Mount Airy, North Carolina—a former stagecoach stop along the Ararat River—is thought to have inspired Mayberry, the fictional town where ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ was supposedly set.” (Submitted on July 3, 2012, by Michael C. Wilcox of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.)

Andy and Opie Taylor image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Michael C. Wilcox, April 14, 2012

3. Andy and Opie Taylor

From a scene in the opening credits of The Andy Griffith Show.

The Andy Griffith Show Statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Michael C. Wilcox, April 14, 2012

4. The Andy Griffith Show Statue

Opie was played by Ron Howard, today a prominent film director and producer.

Andy Griffith and Ron Howard<br>as Andy and Opie Taylor image. Click for full size.

Publicity Photo from Wikimedia Commons, 1961

5. Andy Griffith and Ron Howard
as Andy and Opie Taylor

“Publicity photo of Andy Griffith and Ron Howard from the television program The Andy Griffith Show. The photo was to remind people when the show would return to the air [on the CBS television network] with new episodes, and to be careful driving because it was now school time.”

Andy Griffith image. Click for full size.

Publicity Photo from Wikimedia Commons, 1955

6. Andy Griffith

“Earliest date stamp [on the back of this photograph] is from 1957, but the photo dates back to 1955, when Griffith first appeared on The U.S. Steel Hour in the production ‘No Time for Sergeants.’ The production was aired 15 March 1955 and the press release refers to 15 March in the copy.”

Credits. This page was last revised on November 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 15, 2012, by Michael C. Wilcox of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,041 times since then and 29 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week July 8, 2012. Photos: 1. submitted on April 15, 2012, by Michael C. Wilcox of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 2. submitted on November 2, 2025, by C. Ryan Dodson of Danville, Virginia. 3, 4. submitted on April 15, 2012, by Michael C. Wilcox of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 5, 6. submitted on July 4, 2012, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.