The Jimmie Rodgers Museum in Meridian could be in danger of losing its memorabilia to other interested cities without support to help sustain the museum, Jimmie Rodgers Foundation President Lee Thornton said Thursday. 

Rodgers, who called Meridian home during most of his career, is known as the “Father of Country Music.”

At a work session for the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, Thornton said the museum needs a permanent location and an executive director who can help procure available grants, manage the museum and coordinate the Jimmie Rodgers Music Festival. 

“I do say that we as a community and kind of a region, and I think, the Jimmie Rodgers Foundation will take the blame for a lot of this, we’re kind of continuing to ignore and neglect probably, our single most important and popular attraction to our area,” Thornton said. “We, unfortunately, feel that we’re in danger of losing all of it pretty soon. Bristol, Tennessee has reached out to the city multiple times to try to take everything of Jimmie Rodgers up there, where he did his recording in the studios up there.”

Representatives from Nashville and Austin have also expressed interest in the memorabilia and the Rodgers family could decide to take the items elsewhere, Thornton said. 

“We really feel like we’ve got a fairly finite time to kind of turn it around, put it on the map, show them that it’s still important to us before it’s gone,” he said. 

Meridian Community Development Director Laura Carmichael said the city of Bristol had not contacted anyone in the city administration about the Jimmie Rodgers Museum. 

The museum is located in a temporary space downtown on Front Street, after moving from the Highland Park area.

The foundation has considered moving the museum to the former Railway Express Agency building farther down Front Street, but it could cost around $250,000 to fix issues with the roof and leaks, Thornton said. 

“We still have some things to work out as to whether that building would work and we’re open to other locations as well for the museum,” he said.

Carmichael said in a statement that the city “fully supports the legacy and mission of Jimmie Rodgers and we look forward to working with the board in making the museum move to the historic REA Building near Singing Brakeman Park a reality.”

To hire a director and improve and maintain the museum, Thornton said the foundation is asking for approximately $240,000 over a three-year period, divided between the city of Meridian and Lauderdale County. 

“I would like to challenge the board and the city to try to come up with something to keep this going,” said District 3 Supervisor Josh Todd. “Either we take pride in us having it and do his legacy justice, or let it go.”