Visitor directory
Rhea County directory
The 1892 courthouse in Dayton where the Scopes Trial was held in 1925, the waterfalls and overlooks of Laurel-Snow, Piney Falls and Stinging Fork on Walden Ridge, sandhill cranes at Yuchi Refuge, and the Tennessee River’s Watts Bar and Chickamauga lakes from Spring City down to Dayton.
Cities: Dayton (county seat) · Spring City · Graysville
Communities: Evensville · Frazier · Grandview · Old Washington · Morgan Springs · Roddy
Official tourism, parks & attractions
Tourism
- Rhea County Department of Tourism (Visit Rhea) ↗Official county tourism — trails, the lakes, history, places to eat and stay, and a community events calendar.
Parks & outdoors
- Laurel-Snow State Natural Area (TDEC) ↗Trailhead parking at the end of Richland Creek Rd, off Back Valley Rd north of Dayton · a Walden Ridge gorge cut by Richland, Laurel, Morgan and Henderson creeks, with trails to Laurel Falls (80 ft) and Snow Falls (35 ft) and the Buzzard Point and Bryan (Raven Point) overlooks — about 8 miles round trip for both · old coal-mine remnants near the parking area and the low dam of the old Dayton Reservoir · Tennessee’s first National Recreation Trail and part of the Cumberland Trail · camping only at designated sites, with registration through Cumberland Trail State Park · check the posted gate hours.
- Piney Falls State Natural Area (TDEC) ↗On TN 68 at Grandview, at the top of Walden Ridge: turn onto Fire Tower Rd (Hillary Rd); the trailhead is on the right about a mile in · Upper Piney Falls drops about 80 feet, and the trail follows a rock ledge around behind it; Lower Piney Falls, about 40 feet, has no trail · old-growth white pine and hemlock in the gorge; a National Natural Landmark · open sunrise to sunset · foot traffic only, no camping.
- Stinging Fork Falls State Natural Area (TDEC) ↗Parking on Shut-In Gap Rd, about five miles west of Spring City off TN 68 · a trail of about a mile to the 30-foot, fan-shaped Stinging Fork Falls, past Indian Head Point, which looks down on the creek 160 feet below · open sunrise to sunset, no camping.
- Yuchi Refuge at Smith Bend (TWRA) ↗Off Breedenton Ferry Rd from TN 302, east of Evensville on the Tennessee River · riverfront, wetlands and grasslands with an observation tower over the floodplain and bluffs; sandhill cranes and waterfowl in winter · the Wetland Zone is closed to all public use from Nov 15 to the end of February, and quota deer hunts close parts of the refuge — check TWRA dates before you go · no boat access.
- Watts Bar Lake — Spring City side (TVA) ↗TVA’s main-channel reservoir along the county’s northeast edge · Spring City has lakefront parks, boat ramps and marinas, and Watts Bar Dam crosses the river on the Rhea–Meigs line · the old resort town of Rhea Springs went under the lake in 1941; its memorial stands in Spring City’s Veterans Park · check TVA lake levels before you launch.
- Chickamauga Lake — Dayton side (TVA) ↗The reservoir below Watts Bar Dam runs past Dayton toward Chattanooga · Dayton hosts bass-fishing tournaments through the year (Fish Dayton lists them), and public ramps line the shore · check TVA lake levels before you launch.
Museums & history
- Rhea County Courthouse & Rhea Heritage and Scopes Trial Museum ↗1475 Market St, downtown Dayton · the 1892 courthouse, a National Historic Landmark and still a working county building, where the 1925 Scopes Trial was held in the second-floor courtroom · the Rhea Heritage and Scopes Trial Museum in the same building covers the trial and the county’s history · museum open Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM ET (county site).
- Spring City Historical Museum and Depot ↗390 Front St, Spring City · the town’s brick railroad depot, home to the Spring City Historical Museum and the Spring City Chamber of Commerce; Spring City grew up as a stop on the Cincinnati Southern Railroad.
Government
- Rhea County government ↗County Executive’s Office, 1475 Market St, Suite 301 (the courthouse), Dayton · (423) 775-7801 · Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM ET · the County Commission meets the third Tuesday of the month — check the county calendar for the time.
- City of Dayton (county seat) ↗399 First Ave · (423) 775-1817 · Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM ET · the City Council meets the first Monday, right after the school board meeting, at the Municipal Building.
- Town of Spring City ↗Front St, Spring City · (423) 365-6441 · the Board of Commissioners meets the first Thursday at 7 PM ET at the Municipal Building.
- Town of Graysville (MTAS listing) ↗Town Hall, 136 Harrison Ave, Graysville · (423) 775-9242 · the town board meets the first Tuesday at 7 PM ET at Town Hall.
- Rhea County libraries ↗Clyde W. Roddy Library, 371 First Ave, Dayton, (423) 775-8406 · Audrey Pack Memorial Library, 169 W. Rhea Ave, Spring City, (423) 365-9757 · Graysville Public Library at Graysville Town Hall.
Shared with neighboring counties
- Cumberland Trail State Park (TN State Parks) — shared with other counties; listed under East Tennessee (general)
Local resources
- Emergency (police · fire · EMS)911Call 911 for any emergency.
- Rhea County Sheriff’s Office(423) 775-78377800 Rhea County Hwy, Dayton · non-emergency Central Dispatch (423) 775-2442 · Sheriff John Argo ⓘ source
- Rhea Medical Center (ER)(423) 775-11219400 Rhea County Hwy, Dayton · hospital emergency department · for emergencies call 911 ⓘ source
- Rhea County Health Department(423) 775-7819344 Eagle Ln, Evensville · Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM ET · Tennessee Department of Health ⓘ source
- Rhea County Executive’s Office(423) 775-78011475 Market St, Suite 301, Dayton · County Executive Ron Travis ⓘ source
- Rhea County Schools(423) 775-7812Levengood Educational Center, 1385 Broadway St, Dayton · calendars, closings ⓘ source
- Rhea County Election Commission(423) 775-78161475 Market St, Suite 102, Dayton · Election Day Tue Nov 3: polls open 8 AM–8 PM ET at your own precinct ⓘ source
- Highway emergency (cell)*THP (*847)Tennessee Highway Patrol ⓘ source
Checked Oct 28, 2026 · official sites only · phone numbers copied from each agency’s own page — tap ⓘ to confirm. In an emergency, call 911.
Area news
Headlines from local outlets · Rhea County
United Way of Rhea County is organizing its annual Community Thanksgiving meal and is asking for volunteers and donations; more than 1,100 meals were served last year.
Read at Herald-News →Fourth-graders from Dayton City School and Rhea County Schools rotated through nutrition, fitness and safety stations at the 4th annual Healthy Horizons camp.
Read at Herald-News →Rhea County’s September unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent, down from 4.5 percent in August, state labor data show.
Read at Herald-News →The Sheriff’s Office warned residents about two phone scams — a fake car prize and callers posing as deputies who ask families for jail-bond money.
Read at NewsChannel 9 →State officials held a community meeting in Evensville on a proposed Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus site in Rhea County; residents raised questions about waste storage, Watts Bar Lake and safety.
Read at NewsChannel 9 →Audrey Pack Memorial Library in Spring City started a monthly science program for homeschool students; the fall group is full, and a winter session starts in January.
Read at Herald-News →
Short summaries in our words — tap through to read the full story at the outlet. All area news → · Outlet requests: [email protected]
A short history
Cherokees gave up their claim to this valley between the Tennessee River and Walden Ridge in 1805, and settlers followed. On December 3, 1807, the General Assembly created Rhea County from part of Roane County and named it for John Rhea, a Revolutionary War soldier who served in the North Carolina and Tennessee legislatures and in Congress. Court first met at William Henry’s house at Big Spring, north of present-day Dayton, until the county seat of Washington — today’s Old Washington — was laid out near the river in 1812. Hamilton County and, in 1836, Meigs County were later formed from parts of Rhea.
More than 700 Rhea Countians served in the Confederate army and about 100 joined the Union army; no large battles were fought here, but troops crossed the county and officers used the Washington courthouse as a headquarters in 1863. In the 1880s the Cincinnati Southern Railway was built along the west side of the Tennessee River, bypassing Washington, and new towns grew up on the line. At Smith’s Cross Roads, renamed Dayton, an English-backed iron and coal company built furnaces fed by local coal and ore; voters moved the county seat there in 1889, and the brick courthouse was finished in 1892. Spring City, another railroad town, became the center of the north end after TVA’s Watts Bar Lake covered the old Piney River resort of Rhea Springs in 1941.
In July 1925 the Scopes Trial came to Dayton. Tennessee’s Butler Act banned teaching that humans descended from “a lower order of animals”; the ACLU offered to back a test case, and Dayton’s civic leaders volunteered their town. Teacher John T. Scopes was tried in the courthouse, with William Jennings Bryan helping the prosecution and Clarence Darrow leading the defense, and the jury convicted him; he was fined $100. In 1927 the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the law but threw out the conviction on a technicality, and the Butler Act stayed on the books until 1967. Bryan died in Dayton five days after the trial, and Bryan College opened in his honor in 1930. The courthouse is still in use and is a National Historic Landmark, and today Laurel-Snow, Piney Falls and Stinging Fork protect the gorges of Walden Ridge above the lakes.
Towns & communities
- Dayton — county seat; the 1892 courthouse and the Scopes Trial Museum, Bryan College, and the Chickamauga Lake waterfront
- Spring City — town on Watts Bar Lake that grew up around the Cincinnati Southern Railroad depot; the Spring City Historical Museum and Depot, the Tennessee Valley Theatre and the Rhea Springs memorial in Veterans Park
- Graysville — town at the foot of Walden Ridge in the south of the county, near the Hamilton County line
- Evensville (community) — north of Dayton on US 27; Rhea County High School, the Health Department and the county fairgrounds
- Frazier (community) — Dayton-area community with Frazier Park and Frazier Elementary
- Grandview (community) — on TN 68 at the top of Walden Ridge; the turnoff for Piney Falls
- Old Washington (community) — the first county seat, near the Tennessee River; Judge David Campbell’s grave is in Old Washington Park
- Morgan Springs (community) — on Walden Ridge west of Dayton
- Roddy (community) — old railroad stop, once called Prestonville, north of Spring City
Our place stories in and near Rhea County
Go deeper
Neighboring counties: Bledsoe County · Cumberland County · Hamilton County · Meigs County · Roane County · All counties →
Official visitor links
Checked Oct 27, 2026 · hours, fees and events live on these pages.
Videos
Sources
Checked Oct 27, 2026 · We summarize; follow these for the full history. No hours or fees on this page — check official sites before you go.