Gospel singer and a bluegrass legend James Roy “Pop” Lewis, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 98, was the founder of The Lewis Family group, regarded by many as the first family of bluegrass gospel.
And now the road where Lewis spent almost his entire life will bear his name in a tribute to a man who made bluegrass history.
On Monday, part of State Route 378 in Lincoln County, between the city limits of Lincolnton and the Wilkes County boundary, was dedicated the James Roy “Pop” Lewis Memorial Highway.

Little Roy Lewis, Pop Lewis’ youngest son, told NBC Augusta the old Lewis family house in Lincolnton will be converted into a museum, which should be finished next year.
Pop Lewis was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2000, and he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2001 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from SGN Scoops Magazine. He performed everywhere from the Lincoln Center to the Grand Ole Opry.
As a group, The Lewis Family has won numerous awards, from multiple Dove Awards to awards from Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA). The group holds the record for the longest-running bluegrass-gospel music show in America, airing for 38 years on August, Georgia’s WJBF-TV. The show was ultimately syndicated in 25 separate markets.
The Lewis Family still performing all over the country and with a full tour schedule. Their album Flyin’ High won Bluegrass Album of the Year in the 38th Annual GMA Dove Awards in 2007. Lewis’ grandaughter Sheri and her husband Jeff Easter are also well known in Southern Gospel industry.