A Johnny Cash fan managed to buy the country music legend's Tennessee farm, later uncovering a goldmine of the artist's belongings.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Cash bought the scenic 107-acre farm, located about 40 miles outside of Nashville in Bon Aqua, back in 1972. After the "A Boy Named Sue" legend died in 2003, the property changed hands several times, falling into disrepair.
However, when the farm went up for sale in 2015, Brian Oxley (a newly minted fan who adored Cash's American Recordings efforts with Rick Rubin) and his wife Sally decided to get the ultimate in fan memorabilia and scooped up the property. At first glance, the price of the farm, $895,000, according to Artnet News, is somewhat steep.
However, the couple eventually found a motherlode of Cash's items still lurking on the sprawling ranch. The man in black's last car he ever owned still remained, as well as guitars, photos, and handwritten material. The couple even stumbled upon a VHS recording of one of Cash's performances.
Fan Transforms Johnny Cash's Farm into a Music History Exhibit and Venue
Not stopping there, the Oxleys bought and fixed up a nearby general store. The result was the transformation of the combined properties into the Storytellers Museum and Hideaway Farm.
The Johnny Cash fans opened the doors to the music venue and museum back in 2016.
The "Ring of Fire" singer's daughter, Cindy Cash, gushed over the farm's transformation at the time.
"We used to sing here on Saturday nights," she recalled to the Tennessean. "Us girls would get up on stage and sing whatever we wanted ... we'd sell lemonade and cookies that we made. We would take turns singing, or sing together, and Dad would get up there, too. It was so neat because it was just the locals. We didn't advertise: If you saw a piece of paper on the door, you knew there'd be singing that night."
"I can feel his presence here so strongly," she added. "Dad would have loved this."
The ongoing exhibit features many of the items the couple uncovered while restoring the property. However, the Oxleys want fans to walk away with more than the usual feeling after taking in a music history exhibit.
"We want to make this more of an experience than a museum," Brian Oxley told the Tennessean.
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