Cleveland County courthouse will serve as home to one tribute to Earl Scruggs

Postcard of Cleveland County Courthouse
Friends and family of Earl Scruggs say they’re disappointed that the legendary banjo player didn’t live to see the opening of the Earl Scruggs Center in the old Cleveland County courthouse (point of clarification: the building was new when the above postcard was printed some 100 years ago). The Cleveland County native died in Nashville yesterday at the age of 88. Scruggs’ nephew, J.T. Scruggs, told the Shelby Star that his uncle was thrilled by the project. Destination Cleveland County, the non-profit behind the Scruggs Center, received a $1.5 million grant in 2010 to help pay for renovation of the courthouse. Plans for the center include a permanent exhibit showcasing the life of Scruggs as well as rotating displays on local history and music. Brownie Plaster, the chairwoman of Destination Cleveland County, told the Charlotte Observer that volunteers gathered more than 300 hours of taped interviews with the star of the three-finger picking style. The center is tentatively scheduled to open in the fall.

One thought on “Cleveland County courthouse will serve as home to one tribute to Earl Scruggs”

  1. I was able to dig up another article about the Scruggs Center. This one, in the Charlotte Observer on January 30, provides a good progress report on the project.

    http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/01/30/2970440/in-shelby-the-sweet-sound-of-progress.html

    I was also able to confirm a detail that I left out of the post. UNC’s Southern Oral History Program (SOHP) coordinated oral history interviews (definitely with local, not sure about whether with Scruggs) that will be used in the museum. Those interviews will also be housed in the Southern Historical Collection at Wilson Library, the repository for SOHP interviews.

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