Reservoir in Davidson, Rutherford, and Wilson Counties, Tennessee, United States
This article is about the reservoir in Middle Tennessee. For the U.S. Congressman whom it was named for, see
Percy Priest
.
J. Percy Priest Lake
is a
reservoir
in north central part of
Tennessee
. It is formed by
J. Percy Priest Dam
, located between miles six and seven of the
Stones River
. The
dam
(easily visible from
Interstate 40
) is located about 10 miles (16 km) east of downtown
Nashville
and impounds a lake 42 mi (68 km) long. The lake and dam are named for
Congressman
Percy Priest
.
The lake covers portions of
Davidson
,
Rutherford
and
Wilson
counties and consists of 14,200 acres (5,700 ha) of water at summer pool elevation 490 feet (150 m) above mean sea level. The water is surrounded by 18,854 acres (7,630 ha) of public lands; 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) are devoted to
wildlife
management. The site of the former town of Old Jefferson was inundated by the reservoir; the community was demolished in the early 1960s for the building of the dam.
[1]
The Percy Priest dam project was first authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1946 under the name "Stewarts Ferry Reservoir." An act of Congress approved July 2, 1958, changed the name to honor Congressman Priest. The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
project was completed in 1967.
[2]
The dam, powerhouse, lake and public lands are operated and supervised by the Corps of Engineers' Nashville District personnel. The Natural Resource Management Office maintains three
campgrounds
(Anderson Road, Seven Points and Poole Knobs), eleven day-use/picnic areas (Anderson Road, Cook, Damsite, East Fork, Fate Sanders, Jefferson Springs, Nice's Mill, Overlook, Seven Points, Smith Springs and Tailwater) and twelve boat launching ramps (Anderson Road, Cook, East Fork, Fall Creek, Fate Sanders, Hurricane Creek, Jefferson Springs, Lamar Hill, Mona, Nice's Mill, Poole Knobs, Seven Points, Smith Springs, Stewart's Creek and Viverett Creek).
Marinas
at the lake include
Nashville Shores
, Elm Hill, Four Corners, Fate Sanders, Hamilton Creek and Percy Priest. The lake is also home to a number of recreational organizations such as the Tennessee Boat Club, Percy Priest Yacht Club, Vanderbilt Sailing Club, the Vanderbilt Rowing Club and the Nashville Rowing Club.
The lake is mentioned in the song "Cover Me Up" by musician
Jason Isbell
, and later in a cover sung by
Morgan Wallen
. It was also the filming location
[3]
for the 2013
Grammy Award
-winning song "
Pontoon
", recorded by American country band
Little Big Town
.
On May 29, 2021, a
Cessna Citation I/SP
private jet
crashed into the lake
, killing all seven on board, including actor
Joe Lara
and Christian author and dietician
Gwen Shamblin Lara
.
References
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