Our History. Our Story.
Please read below our introduction to the groups producing Scopes100 – Bryan College, Rhea County Historical Society, Rhea Heritage Preservation Foundation, and Rhea Economic Development Council – and the case we are celebrating:
For many years after 1925, a prevailing attitude in Dayton about the Scopes Trial was “Let’s forget about it.”
But forgetting was hard.
William Jennings Bryan died in Dayton five days after the trial, and shortly after that, the William Jennings Bryan Memorial University Association was formed, to establish a school in his memory. That school, William Jennings Bryan University, with several trial participants listed as incorporators, opened in 1930 and held its convocation in the Scopes Trial courtroom. The University, later renamed William Jennings Bryan College, and now Bryan College, stands as a memorial to its namesake, and a reminder of the battle staged in Dayton.
The Rhea County Historical Society was founded in 1972 to celebrate the history, heritage, and families of Rhea County and Southeast Tennessee. Dr. Ted Mercer, then president of Bryan College was instrumental in organizing the society and served as its first president. Since its inception, the society has carried out its mission by collecting and publishing historical records, most notably a History of Rhea County, Tennessee, and a companion volume Churches and Schools of Rhea County, Tennessee. Its most visible presence in the community is the Rhea Heritage and Scopes Trial Museum, located in the basement of the Rhea County Courthouse.
In 1997, the Rhea County Economic Development Council was organized to promote economic development and tourism in the county. The tourism function recently was spun off into a stand-alone office of the county government. Rhea EDC works in cooperation with local governments and other agencies to enhance the economic well-being of our community.
Established in 2016, the Rhea Heritage Preservation Foundation assumed the responsibility of producing the annual Scopes Trial celebration, carrying on the work established by Bryan College, then passed on to the Dayton Chamber of Commerce and MainStreet Dayton. As with its predecessors, its purpose is to tell the true story of the Scopes Trial and to celebrate the
history and heritage of our community.
Over the years, there were several dramatizations of the Scopes Trial presented in the courtroom, with Inherit the Wind being the most frequent. But it wasn’t until 1988 that the idea of telling the real story caught on. That year, Frank Chapin, an independent writer and producer, came to Dayton, wanting to stage Inherit. He was encouraged to meet with Dr. Richard Cornelius, a professor at Bryan College who was a student of William Jennings Bryan and the Trial, and Dr. Cornelius suggested something different: Write a historically accurate play. Mr. Chapin took the challenge and wrote Destiny in Dayton, producing it for the first time that July.
Since then, the Scopes Trial Play & Heritage Days celebration has been a regular feature in July in Dayton. Visitors from across the country – and around the world – have come to see for themselves the real story of the trial, and to understand how that little case is relevant in today’s society.
We invite you to come take your own look!
