Birthplace of James Percy Priest

J. Percy Priest taught school in Culleoka for six years, joined the Nashville Tennessean, and in 1940 won a seat in Congress as an independent by upsetting a one-term incumbent, then joined the Democratic caucus as soon as he was sworn in. He served as House majority whip from 1949 to 1953. In 1956 he was one of only three Tennessee Democrats in the House who did not sign the Southern Manifesto against school desegregation. He died that October as chairman of the Commerce Committee, and Percy Priest Lake carries his name.

What the plaque says

Birthplace of James Percy Priest J. Percy Priest, the son of George M. and Axie Priest, was born on April 1, 1900, one mile west on the old Theta Road. From January 3, 1941 until his death on October 12, 1956, he served as U. S. Congressman from the Fifth District. Priest also worked as a teacher, journalist, and Christian leader. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Nashville.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• James K. Polk Home and Museum — 11 mi
  The 1816 brick house in Columbia where Polk practiced law and campaigned for the legislature, now a museum that also tells of the people the Polk family enslaved.
• The Mink Slide and East 8th Street — 11 mi
  Columbia's Black business and church district south of the courthouse square, where on the night of February 25, 1946 a white mob gathered and Black veterans stood guard.
• Carnton — 13 mi
  The McGavock farm in Franklin, worked by 44 enslaved people in 1860, that became the largest field hospital of the Battle of Franklin.
• Gordon House and Ferry Site — 15 mi
  A brick house of 1818 beside the Duck River at milepost 407.7 of the Natchez Trace Parkway, where a Chickasaw partner and a Tennessee captain ran a ferry and an inn.

More markers nearby

• Rippavilla Plantation — 3.8 mi
• Hood's Command Post — 3.9 mi
• Ewell Farm — 4.4 mi
• William Banks Caperton — 4.5 mi