Historic Dyess Colony

Quatrefoil was selected by Arkansas State University to design, fabricate, and install 1,800 square feet of exhibits in the Dyess Colony Administration Building. The Dyess Colony was founded in 1934 as an agricultural cooperative project under Roosevelt’s New Deal program. Among the colonists recruited to take part in this experiment were Ray and Carrie Cash and their family, including 3-year-old J.R. Cash. Young J.R. grew up in Dyess and his experiences there influenced much of Johnny (as he was later known) Cash’s musical career.

Exhibit elements include historic video footage of colony members, a recreation of the iconic “gumbo” soil on which the colony was built, a searchable multimedia database of colony families, a memorabilia area for visitors to leave mementos or notes, and artifacts belonging to former colony members and Johnny Cash.

The building is undergoing a complete renovation and each of the rooms is being restored to its original appearance. Our design had to integrate seamlessly with the historic features.