Gaining fame as the birthplace of actor Andy Griffith and the believed inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry in the ' Andy Griffith Show,' Mount Airy capitalized on its connection with the series. In 1977, Mount Airy established its official seal, representing the industries vital to its local economy: furniture manufacturing, textiles, tobacco, and granite quarrying. However, the latter half of the 20th century brought economic challenges due to increased global competition and industry automation. Companies such as Spencer's Incorporated and Renfro Corporation established mills in the city. Mount Airy became a significant hub for the textile and furniture manufacturing industries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The locally quarried granite has been used in famous structures, including the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the Arlington Memorial Bridge. This led to the establishment of the North Carolina Granite Corporation, the world's largest open-face granite quarry. Officially incorporated in 1885, Mount Airy quickly thrived due to the region's abundant natural resources, specifically granite and tobacco. The city derived its name from a plantation in the vicinity. As westward expansion progressed following the French and Indian War, Mount Airy started to develop, serving as a stagecoach stop on the road connecting Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Galax, Virginia.

The native Cheraw people were known to inhabit the area prior to the arrival of these European settlers.

The region currently known as Mount Airy, North Carolina, was originally settled in the 1750s by predominantly English, Scotch-Irish, and German settlers. Mount Airy is a part of the Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. As of 2020, the city was one of the most populous municipalities in Surry County. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 10,676, an increase of 288 (+2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 10,388. Mount Airy / ˈ m aʊ n t ər i/ is a city within Surry County, in the U.S.

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