White Sulphur Springs is just 5 miles from downtown Mount Airy, home of the Andy Griffith Museum.
The newest exhibits in the Andy Griffith Museum include the keys to the Mayberry Jail and a wooden gavel that was on Sheriff Andy Taylor’s desk.
The museum, which opened Nov. 6, displays hundreds of photographs, scripts, clothing and other items that pay tribute to actor Andy Griffith or his popular
The Andy Griffith Show.“
Griffith grew up in Mount Airy—the house is near the museum—and based much of the show on the town and his experiences there. An exhibit shows 35 Mount Airy landmarks, streets and businesses that the show referred to.
Tour guide Emmett Forrest, a schoolmate and friend of Griffith’s who has collected items from the show and Griffith’s career for 25 years, said that Griffith gave him many of the items in the museum. Forrest himself is among the Mount Airy-to-Mayberry connections: Emmett’s Fix-it Shop on the show was a tribute to Forrest.
Forrest said that Griffith last visited the collection in 2004, when it was displayed in the Mount Airy Visitors Center. Griffith, 83, lives with his wife, Cindi, on a waterfront estate on Roanoke Island in Dare County.
The 2,500-square-foot museum is open seven days a week, and admission is $3. The museum shares a site at 218 Rockford St. with the Andy Griffith Playhouse and an old-time-music heritage hall.
The museum is owned by the city of Mount Airy and operated by the Surry Arts Council.
Forrest and Tanya Jones, the Surry Arts Council’s executive director, said that the museum should be a popular attraction in Mount Airy despite the recession.
“We had people here today from Rhode Island, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina,“ Forrest said.
Since it opened, it has attracted 5,410 visitors, Jones said.
“We think we are a very affordable destination,“ Jones said. “People are looking for a simpler time.“
Jessica Morris, the museum’s director, has noticed more people coming to the museum lately.
“Things have started picking up already,“ Morris said. “People are choosing sites close to home.“
The museum cost $600,000 to build. The arts council received $350,000 from the N.C. Rural Center, $150,000 from Surry County and $100,000 from a foundation.
