Improvements Coming To Rhea County Courthouse

On the inside, the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton stands as a symbol...to the rule of law, and to history.

But on the outside, time has not been good to the famed courthouse that once held the 1925 Scopes Trial.

"This courthouse is one of the most photographed courthouses in the world, if not the United States," says Richard Cornelius.

Cornelius has worked with the Rhea County Historical Society to help bring attention to a landmark that he says brings people to Dayton in the first place.

"It certainly made Dayton famous, depending on the reports, maybe infamous," says Cornelius, adding "we need to save it, and not just sort of talk about 'come to dayton, and see the other things.'"

Take a look around the courthouse, and you'll notice the damage.

The help to save the courthouse has come in the form of a grant.

Rhea County executive Billy Ray Patton says it's not much, and that's partly due to the budget shortfall from the state.

"We'll take what we can get right now," says Patton. "We were hoping for more money, but we knew the amounts in a historic preservation grant, but we're even pleased that we got this sized grant."

The rhea county courthouse is over 100 years old. it was built for $35,000. Now, another $35,000 is going into this courthouse, but it's certainly not going to re-build it.

"We're planning to use that money to do some cosmetic work to the courthouse, to take care of some of the woodwork up around the bell tower," says Patton.

Cornelius says it's a little help to an over century-old landmark, but more will need to be done keep up its place in history, adding, "we'll be judged by the world because this is a world famous trial of how we keep up this historic edifice and the grounds which are national landmarks."

Cornelius adds the courthouse is one of only 30 nationally registered historical landmarks in Tennessee.

And Patton says that despite the age of the building, it's still "very" structurally sound.