Is Mayberry a Real Place? Where ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ Was Really Filmed and Debate Over Show’s Setting

The Andy Griffith Show brought the town of Mayberry to life on the sitcom from 1960 to 1968 for eight seasons. The happenings of Sheriff Andy Taylor, played by the legendary Andy Griffith, not only made the episodes memorable, but allowed the program to still remain on a list of classic TV shows that are worth a watch today. Decades later, many are still wondering if Mayberry was a real place and where the show was filmed.

Is Mayberry a Real Place?

Mayberry, North Carolina, is not a real place, however, many outlets have reported that the fictional town was based off of the real-life town of Mount Airy, North Carolina, where Andy grew up.

“Andy Griffith, God bless him, if he had not been born in this particular little town, we wouldn’t be standing here having that conversation,” Randy Collins, President and CEO of the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, told CBS Sunday Mornings during a visit to the town in August 2022.

“After the mills closed, I think a lot of the town fathers and the business owners got together and said, ‘Hey, you know, what about this Mayberry thing? Maybe we can do something with it.’ And businesses were born, or reinvented,” he said.

Collins spoke about how people have come to visit the town years after the show ended, keeping businesses alive still.

“True; Mayberry is fictitious,” he said. “Most everyone knows that! Except maybe some of the rabid fans of the show. They believe it’s real.”

“We are constantly looking at other ways that we can promote the community, ’cause we know the Mayberry generation won’t be here forever,” Collins continued. “But now with streaming television, Andy will be forever with us, and we hope a younger generation will pick it up.”

The Great Debate About Mayberry

In August 2012, an interview resurfaced from the Archives of American Television of Griffith disputing the claims that Mayberry was based on his hometown.

“They think that I based the show on Mount Airy. I’ve argued about this too long. I don’t care. Let them think what they want to think,” he said in the interview, per FOX8.

“A barber up there says he cut my hair when I was a child, hell, he’ll have to be 115 years old,” the Matlock actor said.

When he was asked where the idea to set the show in Mayberry came from, Griffith said it was the producers who came up with the location.

“At first Sheldon [Leonard] didn’t want it to be in North Carolina, he just wanted it to be somewhere in the South. And I hate these made up names. So, we did have Mount Pilot which there’s a place called Pilot Mountain up near Mount Airy,” he recalled. “But, I gradually started slipping in real towns in North Carolina like Asheville, and Raleigh and Siler City. And so it became, during that first year, it became a town in North Carolina.”

In 2002, Griffith made his way back to Mount Airy for the naming of the Andy Griffith Parkway. He once again addressed speculation about the origin of the show’s setting.

“People started saying Mayberry was based on Mount Airy. Sure sounds like it doesn’t it,” he told attendees.

Despite the comments, visitnc.com calls Mount Airy the “real-life Mayberry.”

“It’s Andy Griffith’s childhood home and the inspiration for Mayberry in the beloved 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show,” the website says. “Located 40 minutes northwest of Winston-Salem, Mount Airy has embraced its role with a number of attractions that honor its native son and his show.”

Where Was ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ Filmed?

The Andy Griffith Show was filmed at Desilu Studios. According to Giggster, “The Taylor house scenes were filmed at a Los Angeles studio, and the Culver City-based Desilu Studios served as one of The Andy Griffith Show filming locations. The Gertrude Smith House at 708 North Main Street, NC is an equivalent of the Taylor residence.”

In the filming locations portion of the show’s IMDb page, there are several California filming locations listed, including Upper Franklin Reservoir, Franklin Canyon Park, Los Angeles, for the opening credits, Culver Studios, Ren-Mar Studios for interiors and RKO Studios.