The Andy Griffith Show provided viewers with a slice of nostalgia for eight seasons. Reruns of the show help the popular television series still gain fans today. And if you’re looking to take a step back in time to visit Mayberry, a town in North Carolina can make those dreams come true.
“The connection is Andy was born and raised here. And so you get a lot of Mayberry fans looking for Mayberry,” says Mike Cockerham, owner of Mayberry Squad Car Tours.
Andy Griffith actually grew up in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, but many people just refer to it as Mayberry since that’s the place Andy lived on the long running tv show. For at least a couple of decades, there really wasn’t much of Mayberry that you could find in Mt. Airy, save some common street and place names. When more tourists began coming here in the late 90s and early 2000s, Cockerham had an idea.
“I’m an old car nut been restoring and fixing up cars since I was a teenager, and so I said, ‘Hey I’m going to get me one of those old Ford Galexies like they used on the show and fix it up like a squad car and drive people around town in it,’” says Cockerham.
That’s how the Mayberry Squad Car Tours were born. Mike has restored several old Ford Galaxies now, making them appear just like the ones Andy and Barney used to patrol Mayberry.
“We start at Wally’s filling station here that’s our home office, and we leave here and go out to our granite quarry, it’s about a mile out of town,” says Cockerham. “Mt. Airy is known as the Granite City. That’s our official nickname.”
Mike and his drivers are known to let the siren wail as they make the run through Mt. Airy’s streets, a tour that takes you past places like the Snappy Lunch and other iconic stores from the show. You go by Andy’s old school where Andy first began to sing and perform, a place that today brings many visitors to snap a picture with Andy and Opie. But back at Mike’s headquarters is a real gem, a place that appears strait from your tv set.
“It’s a recreation of the courthouse, yeah it’s pretty close, it’s just a recreation that’s free and people come in and take pictures,” he says.
The inside of the building is a perfect replica of Andy’s sheriff’s office, complete with the jail cells that held folks like Otis. Plus, he’s recreated many other buildings and scenes often seen on the show. It’s a place where people enjoy spending time, remembering the story lines and laughing about some of their favorite episodes. Although it’s been decades since the show was produced, the people just keep coming.
“People say it’s going to die out, but I’ve not seen any indication of that, in fact we see a lot of young folks that are into the show,” says Cockerham.
If you’re looking to visit Mayberry, there’s a lot more to do. You can check out all the sites and plan your stay online.
You can also hear and see more American Countryside travels online, possibly sparking more trip ideas to experience the best of rural America.
