RHEA COUNTY

County Seat: Dayton

In the summer of 1925 national attention was focused on Rhea County, because it was here that a teacher named John Scopes was tried for breaking a state law that banned the teaching of evolution in public schools. Since Scopes never denied what he did, he was found guilty and fined $100. That conviction – and the law – were later thrown out by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The Scopes Trial made national history and was made into a movie called Inherit the Wind, starring Spencer Tracy.

But be aware that the movie is inaccurate. For instance, the people in Dayton who talked Scopes into serving as the "test case" for the law did so because they were trying to draw attention to their town. They knew it would mean a lot of business for their hotels and restaurants. In other words, it was a publicity stunt. And it worked.
 

Click here for a virtual tour of the Scopes Trial Museum in Dayton.

One other tidbit about Rhea County: its courthouse hasn't always been in Dayton. The original county seat of Rhea County was Washington. But in the 1880s the Cincinnati Southern Railway bypassed Washington, which is why a new courthouse was built in Dayton in 1890.