Courthouse restored ahead of 100th anniversary
BY REED JOHNSON MANAGING EDITOR
Rhea County has spent the first half of 2025 preparing for the 100th anniversary of the historic Scopes Trial, and part of those preparations inlcuded renovating the historic Rhea County Courthouse and restoring the Scopes Trial courtroom closer to its historic state.
In June, Rhea County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the two contracts — one for nearly $116,000 and another for nearly $7,700 — that will pay for the renovations and improvement of the facility. The scope of the work includes renovating the bathrooms and two hallways inside the courthouse.
The move came after county work crews spent the first part of the year making significant improvements to the Scopes Trial courtroom ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Scope Trial.
In December 2024, Rhea County received a $250,000 grant from the state to rehabilitate and restore the historic Scopes Trial Courtroom at the Rhea County Courthouse in downtown Dayton to as close to its original state as possible.
Minor work is still currently underway at the courthouse to preserve the integrity of the site, which served as the center of the legal system in Rhea County from its construction in 1891 until courts moved to the Rhea County Justice Center in 2021.
“Through the Historic Development Grant Program, we are helping restore and revitalize some of Tennessee’s most historic buildings so that they once again can flourish, attracting further economic opportunity across our state,” said TNECD Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter. “Thank you to the Tennessee Historical Commission for partnering with TNECD on this program. We look forward to seeing the growth and prosperity that will follow in
our communities.”
Approved by the Tennessee General Assembly in April 2021, the program provides $6.1 million to projects that aim to renovate and preserve historic buildings across the state. The program encourages communities and private developers to invest in buildings that have contributed to a community’s history but now sit idle. These buildings can once again contribute to the economy through job creation and commercial opportunities.
“We are honored to participate with TNECD in this successful program that revitalizes historic buildings and energizes communities across our state,” said THC Executive Director and State Historic Preservation Officer Patrick McIntyre. “This round of funding will help restore iconic properties — such as county courthouses — as well as activate formerly vacant historic spaces for new and creative uses.”
Herald-News photo by Reed Johnson
The historic Scopes Trial courtroom, located on the second floor of the Rhea County Courthouse, is pictured above.
The 1925 Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tenn.
BY BECKY TUCKER NEWS CONTRIBUTOR
A few hot July days during the summer of 1925 produced international renown for the small southeastern town of Dayton.
The Scopes Trial brought world famous lawyers, numerous journalists and spectators to the town.
The history of the trial’s beginning is an example of the local people’s ingenuity in responding to problems.
In the early 1900s the economy of the area depended heavily on the Dayton Coal and Iron Company. Taking ore from the mines in the Morgantown area provided jobs for many local residents. Additional jobs were available in the company’s offices, the furnace and foundry.
A rail system that connected the mines to the foundry and on to the Tennessee River at Bell’s Landing employed more men as the iron ore was changed from the raw product to a saleable good. In 1890, the population of Rhea County was growing and the area was thriving.
By 1925, mining operations were disrupted by explosions in the mines resulting in several deaths, falling market prices and labor strikes. Dayton Coal and Iron Company had changed owners, and efforts to keep the company afloat were failing.
The population of the area continued to decline as families moved away looking for work.
Mining officials and community leaders were looking for ways to boost the sagging economy.
An event in Nashville during 1925 seemed to provide a possible answer.
In February of that year, the Tennessee state legislature had passed the Butler Act, forbidding the teaching of evolution in the public schools.
John Butler, a legislator from Middle Tennessee had become concerned about students being taught scientific theory, which contradicted his understanding of biblical teaching. Soon after the legislation was signed by the governor, the American Civil Liberties Union advertised financial support for an individual who would test the law. George Rappleyea, a mining official, suggested that Dayton be the place for the test case of the Butler Act. A trial would bring journalists and visitors to the town with tourist dollars for immediate use.
Perhaps the publicity given to the town would show the area’s strengths and convince an entrepreneur to consider an investment in Dayton.
Historical accounts indicate that it was not a concern over the question of creation versus evolution that brought the Scope’s Trial to Dayton.
When the trial came to Dayton, with it came William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, two nationally known figures of the day.
John T. Scopes, a first-year teacher at Rhea Central High, agreed to be prosecuted for the teaching of evolution.
It is questionable whether Scopes actually taught evolution since he was primarily a math teacher, and the idea for the test case came after the ending of the school year; nonetheless, Scopes admitted that he had taught evolution and was convicted of breaking the law.
It was Mr. Darrow’s intent to appeal the conviction in hopes of bringing about a change in the law. A technicality in court procedure stemming from the judge setting Scope’s fine led to the case being thrown out.
The days following the trial had an even greater impact on the future of Dayton. William Jennings Bryan died in Dayton
during an afternoon nap.
The people of Dayton had developed a love for Mr. Bryan and wanted to memorialize him. Through the efforts of many across the nation, a school based on the teaching of Christian principles was established in Dayton. The school enrolled its first class in 1930.
Bryan College became the economic boost the leaders of 1925 were seeking. The 2005 economic impact statement of the college reported an annual impact of $40 million on the economy of the area resulting from the operation of the educational institution. The establishment of Bryan College, a direct result of the trial, has greatly impacted the community economically, educationally and culturally, beginning in the 1930’s and continuing through today.
The historic Scopes Trial drew large crowds to Dayton in 1925. Today, crowds still flock to Dayton each year for the Scopes Trial Play & Festival held each July in the same courthouse where the historic trial took place.
HISTORY IN PICTURES
The audience packs the courtroom in the Rhea County Courthouse during the Scopes Trial.
The trial of John T. Scopes attracted many celebrities, ministers, and other public figures. Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, pictured above, had driven over 200 miles from his home in Kansas to observe the trial.
The population of downtown Dayton, pictured above in 1925, exploded during the Scopes Trial as spectators and media from around the world converged on Dayton to witness the historic trial at the Rhea County Courthouse.
HISTORY IN PICTURES
An unidentified young woman is pictured above in Dayton in 1925 posing for photographer and college student William Silverman.
George W. Rappleyea, left, who was the resident chemist for the Dayton Coal and Iron Co., is pictured above with John T. Scopes, right.
Robinson’s Drug Store, pictured above, was the location of a meeting of local leaders who developed the plan to test the new evolution law as a means to garner publicity for Dayton.
Three unidentified men display the table from Robinson’s Drugstore around which local leaders discussed testing the state’s evolution law in Dayton.
HISTORY IN PICTURES
Clarence Darrow, standing center, cross examines William Jennings Bryan outside of the Rhea County Courthouse in 1925. Due to the summer heat at the time of the trial, a portion of the trial was held on the courthouse lawn rather than inside the courthouse.
College student and photographer William Silver is pictured on the right with an unidentified man during the 1925 Scopes Trial in Dayton. Silverman’s photos from the trial were eventually found by the Smithsonian and released to the public.
A group of defense lawyers and scientists assemble for a photo during the 1925 Scopes Trial in Dayton.
HISTORY IN PICTURES
Due to the heat, parts of the Scopes Trial were held outisde on the Rhea County Courthouse lawn, pictured above.
William Jennings Bryan’s last meal
BY PAT GUFFEY RHEA CO. HISTORIAN
As we are now experiencing the long hot days of July, we can gain a perspective relating to the period involved with the Scopes Trial in 1925. People who attended the trial have told me that Dayton had a true “carnival” atmosphere during that time, and that the town was overflowing with reporters and other interested parties. Almost everyone had to rent a room or rooms in their house to someone who was in town for the trial; there was no Holiday Inn or Hilton Hotel at that time!
William Jennings Bryan and his wife were guests in the F. R. Rogers house on South Market Street during his stay in Dayton. This house is on the corner of what is now Market Street and Georgia Avenue, and looks very different today than it did in 1925. Frederick Richard Rogers was working as a pharmacist
for Robinson’s Drug Store at the time of the Scopes Trial; a few years after the trial, Rogers would have his own business, known as F. R. Rogers Pharmacy.
Next door to the Rogers house was the home in which the A. B. Andrews family lived. (This structure was later the home of Ed and Tennie Arnold.) Mr. Andrews was manager of the Dayton Hosiery Mills, which also included the Spring City Hosiery Mills at that time. (These mills later became Kayser-Roth, and are no longer in Dayton.)
The Andrews family loaned their cook to the household where Mr. and Mrs. Bryan were
staying as a gesture of friendship and good will. It was the cook who had a story to tell the Andrews family after the death of William Jennings Bryan. And all went well until five days after the trial when Bryan spoke at the Sunday service at the Methodist Church in Dayton, and ate what would be his last meal.
Events of that afternoon were told to me by Rose McConnell, the Andrews’ daughter, who is now deceased. However, a few years ago she remembered the details as told to her by her mother. She stated that their cook came running from next door relating
and Bryan died that afternoon in spite of all efforts to revive him. The cook told both Dr. Thomison and Mr. Andrews that Bryan’s meal had consisted of two chickens with “all the trimmings!”
that Mr. Bryan was sick and was not responding after a nap which followed a large meal. Mr. Andrews ran across the street and brought his friend, Dr. Walter Thomison (my great grandfather) back with him. “Doc” as Beirne Andrews referred to him, carried his medical bag, and attempted to do whatever he could to save Bryan. Andrews even said to Thomison, “Do you suppose a drink of whiskey would bring him around?”
Before “Doc” could answer, Mrs. Bryan chimed in: “Liquor has never touched his lips, and it will not do so now!” Needless to say, it was too late for anything to be done,
Bryan was known for his large appetite, which probably had an adverse effect on him that day, because he was also a diabetic. Dr. Richard Cornelius, former English Professor at Bryan College has written that Bryan “had consulted with doctors about his diabetic condition” during the five days that followed the trial. No matter how people remember the Scopes Trial and Bryan, he will probably be best known for the college in Dayton bearing his name. And I’m sure many people around the area have various memories, good and bad, relating to the Scopes Trial which they can recall during the long, hot days in July. As your County Historian, I remind you to study the past in order to live in the present and prepare for the future.
First hand account of the Scopes Trial
BY PAT GUFFEY RHEA COUNTY HISTORIAN
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial in Dayton, and a grand celebration is taking place! Many families have some connection to this event, even though they may no longer live in the area. One such person is Naomi Wyatt Foster, who was able to visit the Rhea County Courthouse in July of 2013. She and one of her sons, David Foster, saw the courtroom and museum, thanks to an employee who stayed past closing time to show them around. The Fosters were not able to stay
for the events that year because of not having prior knowledge about them before planning their trip to Dayton. However, it was because of this visit that I was able to get in touch with them, and find out Mrs. Foster’s story. She lived in Oregon at that time, and had written her account of the trial. Mrs. Foster was only 7-years-old when she attended the trial; she was almost 97 when she visited Dayton!
I recently corresponded with David Foster, the number three son of Naomi Foster, and found that he had the same address and phone number as he had in 2014! We talked and caught up with events
in our lives, and he gave me permission to run his Mother’s story this year for the one hundredth anniversary of the Scopes Trial.
David’s mother, Naomi E. (Wyatt) Foster passed away on June 9, 2016, only three months before her 99th birthday. She was the fourth of five children, born Sept. 9, 1917, in Grandview, Tenn., to Frank B. Wyatt and Lena Stebbins Wyatt.
Naomi attended elementary schools in Dayton, Cleveland and Concord, Tennessee, and high schools in Abington and Glendale, Virginia. She also attended Hiwassee College in Tennessee, where she was the first woman to be elect-
ed student body president. In addition, she studied at Emory and Henry College in Virginia.
Naomi married Lee R. Foster from Davenport, Wash., on August 17, 1936 in Bristol, Tennessee. Their home was in Hood River, Oregan, and they were married seventy years before Lee’s death. Naomi passed away on June 9, 2016, with a celebration of her life being held on July 18, 2016.
This is Naomi’s narrative, just as she wrote it in July 2013. It is because of writings such as this that we need to study the past in order to live in the present and prepare for the future.
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
RHEA CO. COURTHOUSE, 1925
CLARENCE DARROW
