HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Hendersonville is a place many musicians have called home, including Johnny Cash and his wife, June.

When you drive through Hendersonville, the city invites you into a glimpse of the late musician's life. 

“He was an international star, by all means," Mark Efros, executive director of Sumner County Tourism said.

The city invites folks into a glimpse of the late Johnny Cash’s life.

“We are at Johnny Cash's house or what's left of it," described Kendall Sarapas, director of business development with Sumner County Tourism, while pointing at a home behind her.

The late musician's home once stood on Old Hickory Lake; two houses down was his mother's residence.

“They purchased the property in 1967,” Sarapas explained.

June and Johnny Cash lived at the home for 35 years. It was then bought by a member of the Bee Gee's in 2006. In 2007, the house tragically burned down.   

“In 2007, they were redoing the floors and one of the workers was smoking a cigarette, he put that cigarette out on the ground and it lit the entire house on fire,” Sarapas said.  

Among what's left on the property is a stone gate, Cash’s studio and a farm across the street, where he owned a number of exotic animals that still live there.

"He recorded on his own property which is unique,” Efros said. 

However, those aren't the only stops on the tour. At the Hendersonville Memory Gardens, visitors pay their respects to Johnny and June. 

“People just take their time and take it in, and this is the quiet part of the tour,” Efros said. “They do see people come from all over the world to pay tribute to June and Johnny, they were very beloved,” Efros said. 

Folks on the tour often reflect and leave mementos.  

“Some leave, as you can see, trinkets, stones, coins,” Efros showed News 2 on the tour.  

Sumner County Tourism said the number of visitors is comparable to those who visit Elvis Presley's Graceland property in Memphis.  

Johnny and June are buried close by his parents, friends and former band members, including Merle Kilgore who co-wrote "Ring of Fire" with June.   

As people across the world continue to visit where Cash spent the later part of his life, the city of Hendersonville continues to keep the Man in Black's legacy alive.   

"It's fascinating the power that music has to create memories in our lives and to draw us to these artists that have created something so special for us,” Efros concluded.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/on-tour-middle-tn/news-2-takes-a-tour-of-johnny-cashs-former-hendersonville-home-on-old-hickory-lake/