CARROLL COUNTY, Miss.–The Mississippi John Hurt Museum is no more. A dire destroyed the building in rural Carroll County early Wednesday. The museum was located in the Teoc area, and was a stop on the Mississippi Blues Trail.
According to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Dept., authorities were alerted to the fire by a Delta Electric service tech, who was dispatched to the museum and found it burning.
Though no foul play is suspected, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the FBI and MBI are helping deputies investigate the cause of the fire, along with the state fire marshal’s office.
“It is always a sad thing to lose a site of historical significance to our county and state,” said Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker, in a prepared statement. “I know this museum was important to the Hurt family as well. I appreciate the rapid response of state and federal agencies to work alongside us as we complete our investigation.”
Hurt is known for his fingerpicking style of “hill country” blues. The mild-mannered musician was rediscovered and had a career late in life in the 1960s during the folk revival.
