Marty Stuart hopes to develop a museum dedicated to Mississippi’s musical heritage, reports WTOK.com. Marty was born and raised in Philadelphia, Mississippi and wants to bring recognition to some of the musicians who have come out of his home state.

“Country music in my opinion is a culture,” Marty said. “The same way that jazz had to fight to become a culture, or ballet. It’s a part of the arts that I have fought for and I believe in. Country music is the voice of America. It is a big part of the American picture.”

In the summer of 2010, a museum in Meridian, Mississippi hosted Marty Stuart’s Sparkle & Twang collection, a small fraction of Marty’s many country music artifacts. He says he may have as many as 20,000 pieces in his collection and wants to put them in a museum in his hometown.

“I had a dream of going to Nashville and being a part of that family called country music, and that happened when I was about 13 years old,” he said. “I’ve been around the world a few times now, and I got my point across. It’s great to be able to come back and bring a lot of that back to Mississippi and reshare it with the people.”

Local and state leaders have had an initial meeting to establish a board to help maintain the project. Next on their agenda is the completion of a feasibility study. The board believes the project would help increase tourism in the area.

By Sarah Wyland