01/24/17  Kickstart Cleveland County Seeking Advice On Johnny Cash Project

Dr. Ruth Hawkins, director of Arkansas Heritage Sites at Arkansas State University at Jonesboro, has agreed to visit Kingsland and Cleveland County late next month (Feb) to assess what can be done to develop the birthplace of Johnny Cash into another stop on a tourism trail based on the life of the country music icon.

Hawkins agreed to come to Kingsland and Cleveland county after visiting with a group from Kickstart Cleveland County at the Uncommon Communities Conference held recently at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on top of Mount Petit Jean near Morrilton.

According to a report in the Cleveland county Herald, Hawkins played a key role into turning the boyhood home of Johnny Cash at the Dyess Colony in northeast Arkansas into a tourist destination that's attracted visitors from every state in the nation as well as 45 countries.

Last year, the City of Kingsland purchased the old post office building on first street with the intention of converting it into a visitors center that would promote the city's affiliation with Johnny Cash as well as other notable people from the area.