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Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2012 census, the city population was 10,440.

History
Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Galax, Virginia. It was named for a nearby plantation. Mount Airy was incorporated in 1885.

City Facts The official seal of the city was adopted in 1977, depicting the diversity of some of our major industries at that time: furniture, textiles, and the granite quarry. After the city’s incorporation in 1885, the granite quarry began large scale production 1889, the first furniture factory began work in 1895 and the tobacco factories sprang up all over town. July 15, 1976, Mount Airy’s name was changed from the Town of Mount Airy to the City of Mount Airy.

Historical Town Officials Approximately 732 persons voted in the first election after the Town of Mount Airy’s incorporation. Elected officials on record for September 3, 1889 were as follows: Elected Position	Citizen's Name Mayor	H.C. Brown Commissioners	James H. Sparger W.E. Patterson John L. Worth R.T. Nutt Anderson Creed Chief of Police	T.F. Dunnagan Secretary & Treasurer	John L. Worth Street Committee	James H. Sparger T.T. Nutt A. Creed Auditing Committee H.C. Brown J.H. Sparger W.E. Patterson

Claims to Fame Mount Airy won the All America City Award in 1994 and was the first city in the nation to win the STAR award for its superb safety program. Mount Airy is also proud to be the home of a favorite son, Andy Griffith.

Mount Airy Today The governmental affairs of the City of Mount Airy, North Carolina are run from a modern facility completed in 1978 and located at 300 South Main Street. The City of Mount Airy is a beautiful serene community located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains; view a city map.

Geography
Mount Airy is located at 36.5°N, -80.61667°W (36.5006, −80.6093), along the Ararat River, about 5 Km (3 mi) south of the Virginia state line. The United States Census Bureau says the city has a total area of 8.4 sqmi, all of it land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2012, there were about 10,440 people in 4,934 households. Population in 2012: 10,436 (99% urban, 1% rural). Population change since 2000: +23.0% Males: 4,780 	 (45.8%) Females: 5,656 	 (54.2%)

Estimated median household income in 2011: $30,545 (it was $26,910 in 2000) Mount Airy:	$30,545 North Carolina:	$43,916 Estimated per capita income in 2011: $21,380

Mount Airy city income, earnings, and wages data

Estimated median house or condo value in 2011: $121,331 (it was $76,100 in 2000) Mount Airy:	$121,331 North Carolina:	$153,700 Mean prices in 2011: All housing units: $138,977; Detached houses: $143,540; Townhouses or other attached units: $143,729; In 2-unit structures: $120,697; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $92,599; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $74,893; Mobile homes: $46,911

Median gross rent in 2011: $506.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Mount-Airy-North-Carolina.html#ixzz2vPG9DGQv

Median resident age: 	 45.8 years North Carolina median age: 	 41.9 years Zip codes: 27030.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Mount-Airy-North-Carolina.html#ixzz2vPFpffP2

Mayberry
Actor Andy Griffith was born in Mount Airy, and the town is believed to have been the basis for Mayberry, the setting of the TV shows The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD. Until he returned to Mount Airy, 45 years after the show, Griffith denied the connection. The community holds an annual "Mayberry Days" celebration during the last weekend of September; 30,000 attended in 2009, and 50,000 were expected for the show's 50th anniversary in 2010. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro 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 2012 event was slated to have Karen Knotts (Don's daughter) and George Lindsey Jnr (eponymous son of Goober).

Three Ford Galaxie police cars, painted to resemble those used on the show, give rides to tourists. A barber shop has been named "Floyd's", and a salvage yard has the name Mayberry.

The Andy Griffith Museum, founded in 2009 by Emmett Forrest, 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.

Bluegrass and Old-Time music
The home of old-time music legend Tommy Jarrell and country singer Donna Fargo, Mount Airy has a long history with regional music. Mount Airy's WPAQ 740 AM radio 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 sessions 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 Blue Ridge Music Center with its amphitheater and music museum of old-time music is just a few miles away on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 213, near Galax, Virginia. This area is home to the Round Peak style of bluegrass music, which started in the Round Peak community, just north of Mount Airy.

Chang and Eng Bunker
Mount Airy was the residence of Chang and Eng Bunker (1811–1874), conjoined twins joined by a band of cartilage at the chest (xiphopagus).

William Alfred Moore House
The William Alfred Moore house, built in 1860, is the earliest known structure still standing in Mount Airy. The house is known for its Italianate and Victorian exterior and Greek revival interior. In the front yard stands a rare (c.1865) hexagonal gazebo made of wood poles and intervening laurel root walls. The Moore house is owned by the Mount Airy Restoration Foundation.

Education
The Mt. Airy Public Library serves the community. The library won the American Institute of Architects Design Award. There are two famous local schools: Mount Airy City Schools and Millennium Charter Academy. More information on website http://macs.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=144571&sessionid=0a5418db97eb06380152586be7c171f3; http://www.mcacademy.com/mount-airy-education-milennium.html

Notable people

 * Andy Griffith (1926-2012), American actor
 * Chang and Eng Bunker (1811–1874), famous conjoined twins
 * Chubby Dean (1916–1970), Major League Baseball player
 * Emmett Forrest (1927-2013), founder of the Andy Griffith Museum
 * Ron Blackburn (1935–1998), Major League Baseball player
 * Ben Callahan (1957–2007), Major League Baseball player
 * Mark Daniel Merritt (1961- ), American music composer
 * Donna Fargo (1945- ), country music singer and songwriter, best known for the "The Happiest Girl In the Whole USA"
 * Frank Beamer (1946- ), head football coach Virginia Tech, born in Mt. Airy, raised in Fancy Gap, VA
 * Tommy Jarrell (1901-1985), old-time fiddler, banjo player, and singer
 * Benton Flippen (1920-2011), old-time fiddler, banjo player, and guitarist
 * Maddy O'Reilly (1990- ), porn actress