Rhea County Courthouse

Dayton, Tennessee

During 12 hot days in July, 1925, the Scopes "Monkey" Trial took place here, pitting three-time presidential candidate and former Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan against one of the most famous lawyers in American history, Clarence Darrow. The case stemmed from the American Civil Liberties Union challenging "the Butler Law," which prohibited the teaching of evolution in the classroom. Even before the trial started it became a media circus, more carnival than judicial proceeding, with a large banner on the side of the courthouse proclaiming "Read Your Bible Daily!"

It ended with the 24-year-old teacher John T. Scopes fined $100, later overturned on a technicality.