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a look inside: Johnny Cash Boyhood Home

April 28, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

I’m practically related to Johnny Cash. Not really, but sometimes it feels that way. In the 1970s when Daddy bought the farmland next to the Cash home place in Dyess, Arkansas, we became connected. Instantly. It doesn’t matter that we were never properly introduced or that the Cash family had already sold their land. The soil has a way of connecting people. Like blood.

I think Johnny Cash would agree.

When Dr. Ruth Hawkins and Arkansas State approached Momma about donating or selling a portion of our land to the Johnny Cash restoration project for parking and whatnot, we hem and hawed around wondering, what would Daddy do? Then we decided to donate it anyway. It just felt right.

Johnny Cash Boyhood Home

Johnny Cash Boyhood Home

 

That donation scored us an invite to the VIP Inspection Tour last Friday, a sort of preview before the August grand opening. (Really Momma was invited, and the rest of us tagged along as her entourage per usual.)

The impressive affair began as it should with an old-fashioned southern picnic—fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collards, black-eyed peas, cornbread, peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream. The fabulous StillBillys, a rockabilly band from Northeast Arkansas, set the tone with music from Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and of course Johnny Cash.

Johnny Cash VIP Tour Picnic

Picnic lunch provided by Whitton Farms and Tyboogie’s Cafe

 

The Dyess Administration Building, which by the way strikes an uncanny resemblance to Elvis’ Graceland, has been beautifully transformed into a first-class museum detailing the settling of Dyess Colony under the Works Progress Administration. Oral histories, photo displays and original artifacts profile the acute struggles borne by families who paved the way for us.

Dyess Colony Administration Building

Dyess Colony Administration Building

 

A whole slew of Cash family members attended this shindig, traveling from Tennessee and beyond, including  Cash’s youngest daughter, Tara, and siblings Tommy and Joanne who were born in Dyess and lived in the house. Addressing the crowd, they cracked jokes and shared memories. In short, they were down to earth and grateful for the transformation and preservation of their home place.

Really, they seemed like regular Mississippi County folks. And they traveled in grand style too.

Joanne Cash Yates (motorcycle) and other Cash family (pickup). Johnny Cash Boyhood Home VIP Tour

Joanne Cash Yates (motorcycle) and other Cash family (pickup).

 

But now for the highlight of the day…Johnny Cash’s boyhood home has been restored and furnished with period pieces, some donated by the Cash family, others donated by area friends.

Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, Kitchen (Dyess, Arkansas)

Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, Kitchen

 

Although I’ve been down the gravel road and seen the house too many times to count, I sensed a difference on this special day of commemoration. The very land felt hallowed—not only because Johnny Cash came from such a simple place, but because anyone survived such hardship wrought by the Great Depression and flood of 1937.

Walking through the cramped hallway, I sensed the loss of a time when modest spaces were filled with large, close-knit families who struggled and celebrated together. Working. Sleeping. Eating. Praying. And in the case of the Cash family, making music.

Johnny Cash's bedroom

Johnny Cash’s bedroom

Gazing out the window across delta gumbo, the same delta gumbo Johnny Cash longed to escape, I understood the source of his music. The brutal, raw honesty of the land is what inspires me to write.

IMG_8909

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

At a very early age…I was very aware I was part of nature—that I sprang from the soil.  – Johnny Cash

 

How High is the Water Mama – Johnny Cash

Grand Opening for this Arkansas State University Heritage Site is scheduled for August 16, 2014. The site will be open on a limited basis and by appointment for group tours beginning in late April 2014. Click HERE for additional information or phone 870-972-2803.

Filed Under: Arkansas, Farm, Travel Tagged With: Dyess, Johnny Cash, Mississippi County, Mississippi Delta

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Comments

  1. June says

    April 28, 2014 at 9:32 am

    Really enjoyed reading about my home town of Dyess ,,, great work girlie

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 28, 2014 at 4:23 pm

      Thanks June. Exciting times for Dyess!

  2. June says

    April 28, 2014 at 9:33 am

    I have to go go see Johnny’s home place

  3. Pary Moppins says

    April 28, 2014 at 9:56 am

    Beautiful article. What a neat connection to the Cash family. Side note: You are the only other person I know that spells M-o-m-m-a like I do. 😉

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 28, 2014 at 4:23 pm

      haha it’s the only way I know to spell it. Thanks!

  4. mrs June Graham says

    April 28, 2014 at 9:58 am

    enjoyed the read and the pics of Johnny Cash’s home!!! That was my kind of picnic lunch!!!!

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 28, 2014 at 4:24 pm

      Thanks Mrs. June! Yes the food was wonderful.

  5. Barbara Tate says

    April 28, 2014 at 10:03 am

    Oh, Talya, you did such a great job describing the tour Friday. I really enjoyed seeing friends from all over and making new friends. The picnic was fun with good Southern cooking. I will be watching as they start with the parking lot What fun!

  6. Tim says

    April 28, 2014 at 10:26 am

    Awesomeness all over the place on this one, Talya!!!

  7. Adrianna says

    April 28, 2014 at 12:48 pm

    Truly inspiring. Johnny Cash — a man who spoke to many — and Talya Tate Boerner — a woman who writes for many — begat from the same inspirational place. =)

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 28, 2014 at 4:24 pm

      Thanks Adrianna:)

  8. Talya'sCuz says

    April 28, 2014 at 10:14 pm

    Yay, Talya! Beautiful piece of land and blog! So glad y’all got to be part of such a special day! And maybe before too long everyBUDDY will learn how Dyess is pronounced – like ‘Dice’ and not Di-ezz, as newscasters often say! 🙂

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 29, 2014 at 6:01 am

      Thanks Cindy and yes on the pronunciation!

  9. Linda Gardner says

    April 29, 2014 at 12:10 am

    Talya, your dad gave Eddie the barn behind Johnny’s home. We got some good cypress lumber and large beams, built our home. I remember pulling nails out of the lumber and loading them on a trailor. We built our home with the help of Eddie’s dad Britton Gardner and Mr. spence. I love reading your stuff..

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 29, 2014 at 6:02 am

      Thank you so much Linda and thank you for sharing the story of the barn. I remember Britton Gardner:)

  10. Jennifer says

    April 29, 2014 at 8:27 am

    I have long been a Johnny Cash fan, to be so connected to his home is amazing! One day’ll I’ll visit and maybe stop by for some sweet tea with your Momma too! 🙂

  11. Dorothy Johnson says

    April 29, 2014 at 4:17 pm

    Well, I wish I had been part of your momma entourage! It was obviously great fun and inspiring. I like Johnny Cash and am glad he did finally excape that gumbo. Good post! Love seeing the pictures.

  12. Laura says

    May 1, 2014 at 7:44 am

    Something came over me looking at that photo of the kitchen.

    I like your helpful “our land” arrow.

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 3, 2014 at 11:29 am

      I hope you get the chance to visit. It really is a special place.

  13. Jacqueline Presley says

    May 1, 2014 at 8:12 am

    I love Johnny Cash. Thanks for sharing.

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 3, 2014 at 11:28 am

      Thanks Jacqueline. Me too!

  14. Hugh Phillips says

    August 17, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    My cousin was married to Rachal Fore. Rachal said that Johnny Cash was her cousin. Does anyone know anything about this or the Fore family in Dyess, AR.?

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      August 18, 2014 at 4:30 am

      I don’t know the Fore family but maybe someone will see your post and respond. Thank you!

Trackbacks

  1. Whirlwind Trip to the Farm - grace grits and gardening says:
    May 5, 2014 at 10:52 am

    […] (check out his amazing photography on Facebook), we headed to Dyess for the Johnny Cash VIP Tour (read more here if you haven’t already). Bonus: Saw old friends, met new ones including members of the Cash family, ate incredible fried […]

  2. Visit the Natural State-Places to visit in Arkansas Jamie's Thots says:
    May 28, 2014 at 12:56 am

    […] also shares about Johnny Cash’s boyhood home and says this: “While you visit the Man in Black, spend some time in Wilson, Arkansas. There […]


Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: March 16, 2025

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