This Little Historic Colony In Arkansas Is Home To An Unexpected Celebrity
By Carol Ann Carson|Published January 15, 2018
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Carol Ann Carson
Author
Arkansas native, Carol Ann Carson, has written for OnlyInYourState for three years now. She resides in Western Arkansas' Mountain Frontier but calls NWA home as well. The graduate of University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, Carol Ann earned her B.A. in English and will soon be pursing her M.A. in Library Science. She loves exploring the trails around the Buffalo National River and has yet to find a waterfall that wasn't her favorite.
It’s not a secret that one of the best musicians of all time came from Arkansas. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the live performance of Folsom Prison Blues, we’ll let that lonesome whistle blow our blues away and walk the line to Johnny Cash’s boyhood home in the historic Dyess Colony.
The colony of Dyess was formed in 1934 as a federal agricultural resettlement community.
The Works Progress Administration, W. R. Dyess, oversaw the community. The area was about 16,000 acres of swampy forest divided into 20 to 40-acre potential farmsteads. The deal was for colonists to pay back the government after clearing the land and converting it to agricultural production. It helped nearly 500 rural Arkansas families.
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Eleanor Roosevelt visited Dyess in 1936 and spoke to the near 2,500 colonists on the steps of the Administration Building.
Her experience left a memorable impression, she wrote in the journal: "As I looked into their faces... I decided that they had character and courage to make good when an opportunity offered and at last that opportunity seemed to be within their reach."
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One of the families assisted by living in the colony was the Cash family.
Theatre reception area features filmstrip images and quotes from former Dyess colonists. The four squares at top left are the original holes from the projection booth. The original film projector is also in the building.
The Administration Building is now home to the Dyess Colony Museum.
Walk up the same steps Eleanor Roosevelt took to give her speech. Once inside, visitors can view exhibits about colony life as well as learn how living in the colony influenced Cash and his music.
Come for the Cash experience, but stay to explore the rest of the colony and its fascinating history.
