Johnny Cash Boyhood Home

Let's be honest, who doesn't love the Man in Black? We all know at least 3-5 of his songs, and that he's a true American icon. Some people know about his rags to riches story, and the rags part of it is all highlighted here.

It is recommended to reserve your tour ahead of time, on the website. Please be aware that they do it at every top of the hour, no in-between. I was actually late for my appointment, as the state of Arkansas' roads are very poorly marked. But I got in the next hour. The tour includes the Dyess Colony Museum (located inside the City Hall/Administration building) where there is a Johnny Cash room. You can also go inside the re-furbished movie theater/soda shop, now a tourist information center. Johnny's brother Tommy (also a Country singer) worked the projector at the theater and the actual one is still on display. Then, you take the bus to the old property where the Johnny Cash home is.

Dyess is a nice quiet town, as it has lots of interesting history to it. It was created as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's government program, turning it from swampland to a place where farmers would live. The Johnny Cash home, at one point, was so out of shape and thankfully it was restored back to good condition. A lot of the Cash family's personal items were donated by Johnny's siblings. The tour guide (who was awesome and very knowledgeable) told me that everything tried to look restored to the way it looked when Johnny lived here. He would enlist in the Army after graduating high school in 1950.

It was a very cool tour. So why did I give it 4 instead of 5 stars? The whole camera/video policy. I do get it to a certain point, especially the flash photography part, but no video in the old house? Is what it is, I guess. They didn't even let me do video in the Visitors Center. I forgot to mention that these properties are run by Arkansas State University. The lady in charge wasn't that friendly either, as I'm sure she was just another university worker. But again, the tour guide was awesome! Be sure to buy some souvenirs as they had what I collect.

One of my relatives was in town visiting, so I decided to take her here (among other tourist spots). Neither of us had ever been here, and we were duly impressed.

Please make sure that you take the guided tour of the home, which is actually located off site, away from the museum grounds. There is a bus that will take you to Cash's old house. It's been beautifully restored.

Worth the detour off the road. A wonderful history of the Dyess Settlement from the Great Depression along with JC's home

Johnny Cash's Boyhood Home (Dyess, Arkansas)

Everybody knows who Johnny Cash is,.. but here's some random facts about him you might not have known.
*He was the 1st person ever sued by the U.S. government for starting a forest fire, which killed almost every endangered condor in the park.
* He was once attacked by his pet ostrich, Waldo. The attack left Cash with five broken ribs and internal bleeding.
*He was arrested in Starkville, Mississippi for looking at flowers in someone's yard at 2am. This was 1 of 7 total arrest for him.
*He once released 500 baby chickens in a hotel while touring.
*Johnny proposed to June Carter 30 times before she finally accepted.
* Cash suffered from something called Shy-Drager's Syndrome.
*Johnny Cash's birth name was J.R. Cash (initials only). He later had to change it to join the Air Force.

This is an absolute must if you find yourself in the area (accidently for us). We had stopped in for dessert at the Wilson Cafe and were looking at things in the area to do. We took the 20 minute drive to Dyess and I'm sure glad we did.
The vistor buildings are excellent and full of information and artifacts from the Cash family, along with the history of the town. We took a bus 2.4 miles to the house courtesy of Larry. He was a wealth of knowledge on top of growing up just down the road from the home. He answered all of our questions and talked to us about being from Iowa.
We were in the house for about an hour and were never rushed. I can't thank Larry enough for his time and information.

I've been everywhere, man.

And now I can say I've been to Johnny Cash's boyhood home in the middle of nowhere down a rough dirt road. I had always hoped to one day visit this site but didn't realize I'd end up stumbling upon it rather than planning out a trip. Love me the deep and soulful voice of Johnny Cash. "How high's the water, mama?" ...if only I were clever enough to write this better review based on his lyrics. Alas, you'll have to bare with my nitty gritty, flair-less details.

Driving south to Memphis after passing through Sikeston, Missouri, I noticed the historic roadside sign highlighting the Cash boyhood home and quickly pulled the car off the road for a 7 mile dirt road adventure to see where it all humbly started. If you've seen the movie "Walk the Line", your memory of the home from that movie will be fairly accurate. This national landmark has been very well preserved and seems to serve as the star for the one-horse town it neighbors. Our visit was only for the exterior but in town you can catch a bus and guided interior tour. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time (and we had a pup in the car). The home is in such a peaceful setting with a few trees and rolling acres of farmland surrounding as far as the eye can see. You'll notice the bricks leading up to the home were the result of donations and there are also two historic plaques outside the fence for all to enjoy and learn.

On a road trip from Chicago to Memphis, this was my favorite attraction! We hadn't even planned on stopping but saw the sign on the highway. It's six miles off the highway in the backwoods. (Be sure you have your GPS/phone on because the signs are scarce off the highway.) My guest was a bit worried about being here and not being white, but it was perfectly fine.

We got to the tiny center of town, and the tour guide just asked if we wanted to go on the tour to the home. Sure! $10 each. An Arkansas State University mini bus pulls up playing Johnny's music, and the group heads a couple miles to the house on a gravel road. The employees were knowledgeable, kind, and helpful. They offer to take pictures. It is amazing to be surrounded by the desolate landscape and not just in a random museum in a city. Once back, you get to explore the town hall with more Cash and antique items. Go here!

One day, after leaving Graceland, I decided to take a drive into Arkansas just to say I was in the state (and eventually into MO as well). Little did I know that this was here! About 30-40 minutes into my drive, I see a sign on the side of the road that says "Johnny Cash Boyhood Home" so, being a fan of Cash, I immediately turned off the exit. Naturally, I got concerned about 20 minutes into my drive following the signs when I still didn't see anything other than lots of farm and lots of locals. Did I make the right choice? YOU SURE BET I DID!

I reached my destination for the tour and was greeted with the most friendliest of people to start one of the last tours of the day. They gave me a good history of Johnny Cash before they even got us on the small bus and I must admit, it was amazing how much they knew. What was even more amazing was the house!! It felt nostalgic just walking into there. Some of it was clearly fixed up by the University of Arkansas, who now owns this, but they did a fantastic job. The tour guide was knowledgeable as well about everything within the house and what went on in there. Before I knew it, the one hour tour was up and I felt like it was BETTER than Graceland. It just felt more personal. You can bet that if I ever get down to this area again, I'll be visiting once more!

Initially I went because I knew my parents would like to know more about the place, and yet I discovered how much I learnt about the New Deal, Jonny Cash, and a part of American culture most Brits don't see.

We really enjoyed this! We took friends from Canada for a visit and they were enriched by the Southern charm!