J. Percy Priest Dam

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J. Percy Priest Dam forms Percy Priest Lake on the Stones River.
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J. Percy Priest Dam forms Percy Priest Lake on the Stones River.

J. Percy Priest Dam is a dam in north central Tennessee at mile 6.8 of the Stones River, a tributary of the Cumberland. Its is located about ten miles east of downtown Nashville. The reservoir behind the dam is Percy Priest Lake.

The Flood Control Act of 1946 commissioned the construction of a project under the name “Stewarts Ferry Reservoir”. Public Law 85-496, approved July 2, 1958, changed the name to J. Percy Priest in honor of the late Congressman from Tennessee. Construction began June 2, 1963 and the dam was completed in 1968. The dam was built under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supervision.

Rising 130 feet above the streambed, the combination earth and concrete-gravity dam is 2,716 feet long with a hydroelectric power generating plant. The dam has contributed significantly in reducing the frequency and severity of flooding in the Cumberland Valley. In addition to the far-reaching effects of flood control, the project contributes to the available electric power supply of this area.

The dam is easily visible from Interstate 40 where it crosses the Stones River.


This article incorporates text that is a public domain work of the United States Government. Source: USACE.Army.Mil [1]

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