Mount Airy is a city in

Surry County, North Carolina Surry County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,359. Its county seat is Dobson, and its largest community is Mount Airy. Surry county comprises the Mount Airy, NC Micropol ...

, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 10,676. As of 2020, the city is the most populous municipality in Surry County. Mount Airy is located within the

Piedmont Triad The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and ...

metropolitan region.

History

The region currently known as Mount Airy, North Carolina, was originally settled in the 1750s by predominantly English, Scotch-Irish, and German settlers. The native

Cheraw The Cheraw people, also known as the Saraw or Saura,Sebeok, Thomas Albert''Native Languages of the Americas, Volume 2.''Plenum Press, 1977: 251. were a Siouan-speaking tribe of Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands,Swanton''The Indians ...

people were known to inhabit the area prior to the arrival of these European settlers. As westward expansion progressed following the French and Indian War, Mount Airy started to develop, serving as a

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

stop on the road connecting

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

and

Galax, Virginia Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statisti ...

. The city derived its name from a plantation in the vicinity. Officially incorporated in 1885, Mount Airy quickly thrived due to the region's abundant natural resources, specifically granite and tobacco. This led to the establishment of the North Carolina Granite Corporation, the world's largest open-face granite quarry. The locally quarried granite has been used in famous structures, including the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the

Arlington Memorial Bridge The Arlington Memorial Bridge, often shortened to Memorial Bridge, is a Neoclassical masonry, steel, and stone arch bridge with a central bascule (or drawbridge) that crosses the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United Sta ...

. Mount Airy became a significant hub for the textile and furniture manufacturing industries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Companies such as Spencer's Incorporated and Renfro Corporation established mills in the city. However, the latter half of the 20th century brought economic challenges due to increased global competition and industry automation. In 1977, Mount Airy established its official seal, representing the industries vital to its local economy: furniture manufacturing, textiles, tobacco, and granite quarrying. Gaining fame as the birthplace of actor

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy ...

and the believed inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry in the " Andy Griffith Show," Mount Airy capitalized on its connection with the series. It established annual events like Mayberry Days and tourist attractions such as Floyd's Barber Shop and the Andy Griffith Museum. In recognition of its vibrant community life and civic achievements, Mount Airy was named an All American City in 1994. The W. F. Carter House, William Carter House, Edgar Harvey Hennis House, William Alfred Moore House, Mount Airy Historic District, North Carolina Granite Corporation Quarry Complex, Renfro Mill, and Trinity Episcopal Church are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

Mount Airy is located along the

Ararat River The Ararat River is a tributary of the Yadkin River in southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina in the United States.DeLorme (2001). ''North Carolina Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. Via the Yadkin it is part of t ...

, about south of the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

state line. The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

states the city has a total area of , all land. The city is located at the foothills of the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

, approximately from the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and National Scenic Byway, All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is the longest linear park in the U.S., runs for through 29 counties in Virginia and ...

. It has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa'') and the

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 7a.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,676 people, 4,571 households, and 2,530 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 10,388 people in 4,934 households. The people per square mile was 891.4. There were 5,296 housing units. The Population percent change from 2000 to 2010 was 22.4% up. The racial makeup of the city was 84.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

descent, 8.2% African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 2.2% Persons reporting two or more races, 6.7% Hispanic or Latino. Persons per household was 2.10. Average household income was $35,428. Persons below poverty level was 21.1%. High school graduates were 76.9% and bachelor's degree or higher was 25.9%. As of the

of 2000, there were 8,484 people, 3,667 households, and 2,130 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,129 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.34%

descent, 7.99%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.35% Native American, 2.55%

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.49% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.87% of the population. There were 3,667 households, out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 25.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,910, and the median income for a family was $33,412. Males had a median income of $27,299 versus $24,830 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $17,237. About 17.4% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 20.7% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Mayberry

Actor

was born in Mount Airy, and the town is considered to have been the basis for

Mayberry Mayberry is a fictional community that was the setting for two popular American television sitcoms, ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960–1968) and '' Mayberry R.F.D.'' (1968–1971); Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television f ...

, the setting of the TV shows ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series ...

'' and '' Mayberry R.F.D.'' The community holds an annual "Mayberry Days" celebration during the last weekend of September; 30,000 attended in 2009, and 90,000 attended for the show's 50th anniversary in 2010. The

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

estimates the town receives $5 million each year as a result. Surviving members of the cast, along with family members of other cast members, often visit. The 2024 event was slated to have a special appearance by Karen Knotts, Don's daughter. Several

Ford Galaxie The Ford Galaxie is a car that was marketed by Ford in North America from the 1959 to 1974 model years. Deriving its nameplate from a marketing tie-in with the excitement surrounding the Space Race, the Galaxie was offered as a sedan within the ...

police car A police car is an emergency vehicle used by police for Police transport, transportation during Patrol, patrols and responses to Call for service, calls for service. Police cars are used by police officer, police officers to patrol a Beat (po ...

s, painted to resemble those used on the show, gave rides to guests. A barber shop has been named " Floyd's." The

Andy Griffith Museum The Andy Griffith Museum is a museum dedicated to the life and career of American actor, television producer, and singer Andy Griffith. The museum, which houses the world's largest collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia, is located in Griffith' ...

, founded in 2009 by

Emmett Forrest William Emmett Forrest, Jr. (September 3, 1927 – January 12, 2013) was an American pop culture collector, museum founder, and longtime friend of actor Andy Griffith. Forrest was an extensive collector of memorabilia spanning Griffith's career. H ...

, attracts 200 visitors a day. The 2,500-square-feet museum, located half a mile from Griffith's childhood home, houses the world's largest collection of Andy Griffith

memorabilia A souvenir (French language, French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memory, memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collecte ...

. Mayberry Days will continue on September 23-29, 2024.

Autumn Leaves Festival

Held the second weekend in October, the Autumn Leaves Festival attracts over 200,000 people to the city during the festival weekend. Vendors sell food and other items, and there is a stage for musicians.

Bluegrass and old-time music

The home of

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, contra dance, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering ...

legend Tommy Jarrell, bluegrass gospel legends The Easter Brothers, and

country singer Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

Donna Fargo Donna Fargo (born Yvonne Vaughn; November 10, 1945) is an American country singer-songwriter known for a series of Top 10 country hits in the 1970s. These include " The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A." and " Funny Face", both of which were r ...

, Mount Airy has a long history with regional music. Mount Airy's WPAQ is one of the few Bluegrass and Old-Time music stations still operating and has been airing the live radio show Merry-Go-Round from the Downtown Cinema Theatre since 1948. Weekly bluegrass

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...

s at The Andy Griffith Playhouse and the annual Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention also serve to attract old-time musicians from across the region and the world. The Fiddlers Convention first began in 1972, and is held the first weekend in June at Veterans Memorial Park. The Blue Ridge Music Center with its amphitheater and music museum of old-time music is just a few miles away on the

at Milepost 213, near

. This area is home to the Round Peak style of old-time music, which started in the Round Peak community, just west of Mount Airy.

Education

Mount Airy has a city-funded school district consisting of four schools.

Mount Airy City Schools

Mount Airy High School Mount Airy High School is located on N South Street in Mount Airy, North Carolina. The front office is at the corner of N South Street and Orchard Street. The school first opened in 1895. Mount Airy's team name is the Granite Bears, and their sch ...

*Mount Airy Middle School *Jones Intermediate School * BH Tharrington Elementary School

Surry County Schools

There are also other schools in Mount Airy that are controlled by the Surry County Schools district. *North Surry High School *Gentry Middle School *Meadowview Magnet Middle School *Cedar Ridge Elementary School *Flat Rock Elementary School *Franklin Elementary School *White Plains Elementary School

Charter schools

Mount Airy has one k-12 public-funded

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

,
Millennium Charter Academy

Private schools

*White Plains Christian School

Libraries

The Mt. Airy community is also served by a Public Library that won the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

Design Award.

Notable people

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is an American former college football player and coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies football, Virginia Tech Hokies. Beamer was a cornerback, defensive cornerback for Virginia Tec ...

(born 1946), retired head football coach at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, born in Mount Airy and raised in

Fancy Gap, Virginia Fancy Gap is a census-designated place (CDP) in Carroll County, Virginia, United States. The population was 237 at the 2010 census. Geography Fancy Gap is located at (36.669884, −80.700892). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP h ...

* Ron Blackburn (1935–1998),

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player *

Chang and Eng Bunker Chang Bunker (จัน บังเกอร์) and Eng Bunker (อิน บังเกอร์) (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Siamese (Thai)-American conjoined twins, conjoined twin brothers whose fame propelled the expression " ...

(1811–1874), famous "Siamese Twins"

conjoined twins Conjoined twins, popularly referred to as Siamese twins, are twins joined '' in utero''. It is a very rare phenomenon, estimated to occur in anywhere between one in 50,000 births to one in 200,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in south ...

who settled in Mount Airy after they retired from show business * Ben Callahan (1957–2007), MLB player * Bill Cox (1929–2017),

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

defensive player * Chubby Dean (1916–1970), MLB player *

(born 1945), country music singer and songwriter, best known for the song "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" * Benton Flippen (1920–2011), old-time fiddler, banjo player, and guitarist *

(1927–2013), founder of the

* Maddie Gardner, (born 1993), local news reporter and internationally recognized cheerleader *

(1926–2012), American actor, singer, musician, and comedian * Bill Hayes, television producer * Caleb V. Haynes (1895–1966),

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

major general * Jerry Hemmings (born 1948), basketball coach * Tommy Jarrell (1901–1985), old-time fiddler, banjo player, and singer *

Luke Lambert Lucas A. Lambert is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Spire Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Carson Hocevar. Lambert was previously Cup Series crew chief for Richard Chi ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

crew chief *

Betty Lynn Elizabeth Ann Theresa Lynn (August 29, 1926 – October 16, 2021) was an American actress. She played Thelma Lou, Deputy Barney Fife's girlfriend, on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. During the 1940s and 1950s, she appeared in many films, including ...

(1926–2021), actress * Mark Daniel Merritt (born 1961), American music composer *

Alex Sink Adelaide "Alex" Sink (born June 5, 1948) is an American former politician and financier. A member of the Democratic Party, Sink was the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida and treasurer on the board of trustees of the Florida State ...

(born 1948), former chief financial officer of Florida, Democratic nominee for governor of Florida in 2010 * Anna Wood (born 1985), actress

Sister city

Mount Airy has one

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

: *

Samut Songkhram Samut Songkhram (Pronunciation) is a city in Western Thailand region, the capital of Samut Songkhram province, a route to the south of Thailand. It is from Bangkok and has a population of 25,623 people as of 2023. Toponymy The word "samut" ori ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Joyce, Tom. (Jul 21, 2019)
Siamese Twins unite sister cities
''The Mount Airy News''. Retrieved Jul 22, 2020.

References

External links

*
Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce
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