The Buffalo River — saved from damming, now a National River
Saving the Buffalo River
He played a major role in stopping a proposed dam that would have flooded the Buffalo River, and helped preserve Blanchard Springs Caverns for future generations.
Today the Buffalo River flows freely as America's first National River — a direct result of advocates like Driftwood who understood that a place's history and its landscape were worth defending together.
The Jimmy Driftwood Barn — Mountain View, Arkansas
The Folk Music Capital of the World
After leaving the Grand Ole Opry in the early 1960s, Jimmy returned to Arkansas and helped establish Mountain View as a center for traditional folk music — often referred to as the Folk Music Capital of the World.
He built the Jimmy Driftwood Barn, where folk and mountain music is still played by local and visiting musicians every Friday and Sunday night, keeping a living tradition alive rather than preserved only in recordings and archives.