Sarah Ophelia (Minnie Pearl) Tennessee Music Pathways Marker

One of the most recognizable artists in country music for 50 years, Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, professionally known as Minnie Pearl, developed gentle and affectionate comedic routines about the people she had known growing up in Centerville and those she met later on the road. Rarely absent from the Grand Ole Opry from 1940 until her retirement in 1991, she became a nearly unchanging presence as music and society transformed around her. "Our jokes," she said, "and the customs we portray stay the same. People like it because it gives them a sense of security."

Born in Centerville on Oct. 25, 1912, Colley was the youngest of five daughters of a sawmill operator, Thomas Colley, and his wife, Fannie. The family had moved to Centerville from Franklin, Tennessee, in 1897. Fannie quickly became involved with local organizations, encouraging Sarah's later civic engagement.

Tom Colley took railroad ties to the Grinder's depot on the Centerville branch of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. Traffic was routed to a small siding at a switch that became known as Grinder's Switch, a location that Sarah Colley later made into Minnie Pearl's hometown.