Rhea County students study 1925 Scopes Trial

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Some 300 elementary school students, from Spring City Elementary, Graysville Elementary and regional home schools, gathered at the Rhea County Courthouse March 19-12 to learn about Rhea County’s most famous tourism event, the 1925 Scopes Trial.

Presented by Rhea Heritage Preservation Foundation (RHPF), students and their teachers enjoyed a one-act play, “How It Started,” that tells the story of the trial, then participated in a discussion about the trial and visited the Rhea Heritage & Scopes Trial Museum.

RHPF President Rick Dye said today’s program was the largest in the four years the organization has been producing the educational program. “The students seemed to enjoy the play and certainly were engaged with retired teacher Sharon Honeycutt’s questions and answers. Most had never been to the museum and were really interested in the displays about Rhea County history. It was a treat to have Rhea County Historian Pat Guffey take them through the Rhea history section.”

This is the first year Rhea County public school students have attended the two-hour program which is offered each March at the Rhea County Courthouse. “We have had a good number of home school students from outside Rhea County attend in previous year, and we certainly welcome home school and private school students, as well as public school students,” Dye said. “We believe it’s especially important for our local students to learn something about this part of Rhea County history.”

RHPF officials expressed their appreciation to County Executive Jim Vincent and his staff for their cooperation in making the “How It Started” program possible.