Tired of put-downs, Tennessee town corrects the record with play about the Scopes trial it hosted
July 11, 2025
A small town in Tennessee courted national publicity a century ago when it recruited a local teacher to challenge a state law banning the teaching of evolution. What they got after the Scopes trial in July 1925 was much more than they bargained for. For decades, Dayton, Tennessee, has attempted to correct the persistent misconceptions and stereotypes about it and its residents with a reenactment of the trial, put on by locals and descendants. The play performed every summer draws directly from the trial’s transcript to remind visitors that the truth about the debate over evolution is more nuanced than most people remember.
