Discover the Upper Delta

Date: October 1, 2025 | Story: Stephanie Maxwell Newton | Photography: Mandy Jayne |

A local historian shares the stories behind two of the area’s landmarks and how they’ve shaped Northeast Arkansas

It’s no secret the Delta is full of history, and Will Reaves is helping to share those stories. In his new role as director of the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum in Tyronza and the Historic Dyess Colony: Johnny Cash Boyhood Home in Dyess, both in Arkansas’s Upper Delta, he educates the next generation on the region’s past. At the museums, which are part of six historic properties managed by the Arkansas State University Heritage Sites Office, he researches future exhibits and interacts with visitors—from both near and far. Read on for more of our conversation with Will about these sites and what’s coming soon in the Upper Delta.

Q: Tell me about the history behind the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum.
A: At the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, we focus primarily on the Southern Tenant Farmers Union in the 1930s as a reaction to the Agricultural Adjustment Act. This was part of the New Deal, where essentially farmers and ranchers were required to destroy a number of crops or kill a number of animals to drive demand higher. Farmers were supposed to receive subsidy checks from the government to make up for the losses they would sustain. In Arkansas and around the South, since the agricultural segment was run by tenant farming labor, you ended up having a mass layoff of tenant farmers and sharecroppers.

In 1934, a group of tenant farmers met in Tyronza and formed a union with a goal of improving wages and living conditions. This union is historically significant because it was desegregated from its beginning, and they also allowed women to join and take on leadership positions. It was very progressive for its time. That’s how it’s remembered by historians today—as an early example of civil rights and progressive thinking.

Q: How does the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home fit into the narrative of this time period?
A: This site actually shows a different reaction to the Great Depression. The town of Dyess was originally an agricultural resettlement colony. Farm workers trying to escape poverty were relocated here and given a house built by the Works Progress Administration along with 20-40 acres and a mule in an effort to jumpstart their futures. That’s how the Cashes came here in 1935. We tell the story of Johnny Cash and his music career, but we also tell the story of the colony. There were other colonies like this throughout the United States, but this one is historically significant because it was the first and the largest by far: 500 families relocated to Arkansas to work in this cooperative community.

Q: Are there any other historic sites in the Upper Delta, in addition to the A-State Heritage Sites, that you recommend people check out?
A: The Cold War Center in Blytheville will be the nationally recognized museum for the Cold War. It’s in its final stages and once it’s complete, that will be a huge draw for Blytheville. In Marion you have the Sultana Disaster Museum, which tells the story of the deadliest maritime disaster in American history. It’s currently moving to a larger facility with expanded exhibits. All the area museums work together and have a relationship; we’re all working toward expanding tourism and increasing visitorship.

Q: Is there anything that you think surprises people about this region?
A: We get a lot of people from outside of Arkansas and even outside the United States who come to the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, and they are really surprised by how much rice we produce as a state. To hear we’re the largest rice producer in the nation sometimes takes people by surprise.

Q: What’s new coming up at either of the museum sites you oversee?
A: At the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, we have acquired the grain bins right across from the main museum area. That will be turned into an event center, expanded venue space, and will be focused more broadly on agriculture in Arkansas. We’ll be able to have weddings and reunions there, which will be a major draw for the museum and the city of Tyronza. Our initial phase of restoration and rebuilding is complete, so now we’re working on Phase 2.

Southern Tenant Farmers Museum in Tyronza

The Parsonage in Jonesboro

Johnny Cash Boyhood Home

Native Brew Works in Jonesboro

Pizza Chef in Jonesboro

Wilson Cafe

The Grange in Wilson

Read on for more of our favorite ways to discover the Upper Delta.

Shop
Get a dose of designer Kim Biggs’s eclectic, elevated style with a visit to The Vibe Interiors (thevibeinteriors.net), her Jonesboro storefront offering art, accessories, and furniture unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else. In Wilson, White’s Mercantile (whitesmercantile.com) is a modern take on the old-fashioned general store, filled with a curated collection of gifts, apparel, and Southern-inspired home goods. Find your next favorite read—and record, since there are racks of vinyl, too—at Blytheville Book Company (blythevillebookcompany.com).

Dine
In Jonesboro, Native Brew Works (nativebrewworks.com) is a popular stop for tacos and bar food with a Southwestern slant. Don’t miss their brunch menu served Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Originally located in Marion, Chef John Myers’s restaurant The Parsonage (870.203.6116) is now a mainstay for Southern comfort food in downtown Jonesboro. For takeout or to dine in, locals flock to Pizza Chef (eatatpizzachef.com), Jonesboro’s longest-standing pizza spot. Order a classic or try one of their gourmet pies topped with cheeseburger, barbecue chicken, or shrimp and garlic.

Visit
In Marion, stop in at the Sultana Disaster Museum (sultanadisastermuseum.com) to hear the story of the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history, which occurred near Marion on the banks of the Mississippi River in 1865. Keep an eye out for a brand-new campus for the museum that will honor the lives lost and the story of the Civil War-era steamboat. While in the area, visit additional properties that are part of the A-State Heritage Sites, including the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center in Piggott and Historic V.C. Kays House on the campus of Arkansas State University (arkansasheritagesites.astate.edu).

Stay
If Wilson is your destination, book a room at The Louis Hotel (thelouishotel.com), the town’s boutique hotel located right on the square. In Jonesboro, The Hotel at Huntington Square (thehotelhs.net) offers a convenient stay just a few blocks from downtown’s Main Street.