Johnny Cash Boyhood Home Officially Dedicated

The Johnny Cash boyhood home in Dyess officially opened with a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony on Saturday (Aug. 16).

“If Dad walked into the house today, he would have been overcome,” said Rosanne Cash, one of Johnny’s four daughters, at the dedication ceremony.

The five-room home has been restored to its original form reminiscent of when the Cash family lived in Dyess from 1935 until 1953. It is furnished with retrieved family items and donations.

The Dyess Colony was created in 1934 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal to aid in the nation’s economic recovery from the Great Depression. As a federal agricultural resettlement community, it provided a fresh start for nearly 500 impoverished Arkansas farm families, including the Cash family who once lived in Kingsland (Cleveland County), where Johnny Cash was born.

The dedication came on the heels of the fourth annual Johnny Cash Music Festival at Arkansas State University’s Convocation Center Friday evening. The sold-out concert featured Country Music Hall of Fame members Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire When you apply for the marketplace you’ll find out if you qualify for free or low-cost coverage from Medicaid or the Children’s Health health medical insurance Program (CHIP). and Bobby Bare. Singer and comedian Mark Lowry served as the event emcee.

“When many people approach me about starting Johnny Cash projects, I usually say ‘no, Rosanne Cash said. “But, in talking to Dr. Ruth Hawkins and Arkansas State University, I realized several things and one is that my children need to know their family legacy. It’s so beautiful.”

Hawkins, executive director of Arkansas State University’s Arkansas Heritage Sites program, has spearheaded the restoration of the Cash home project.

“From when I saw the house in 2011 and to see the progress today is overwhelming,” Rosanne Cash added. “Ruth and the family aimed for authenticity when it came to furnishings. When you add the pieces in the house, it gives it resonance. The whole project caused a real shift in my life.”

Area tourism officials have high hopes that the Cash home will add to attractions in the area.  It has drawn tourists from as far away as Europe already.

Officials anticipate between 30,000 and 50,000 people to visit Dyess each year, pumping about 100 jobs and $10 million a year into the regional economy, Hawkins said last week.

The Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. It is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays. Admission is $10 and includes the Dyess Colony Museum and the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home.