Jerry Summers
Some times even Pulitzer Prize and other nationally recognized authors and authorities don’t always include the historical significance of present day families’ connections to not only the 1925 Scopes Trial but also to the creation and boom and bust time periods in Rhea County, Tennessee
In 123 pages of text and tables Warren Allem in his 1959 Masters thesis at the University of Tennessee- Knoxville “Background of the Scopes Trial at Dayton, Tennessee” mentions the Gardenhire name that remains well known in 2025.
Rhea County was established by an act of the Tennessee legislature on December 3, 1807 and January 25, 1808.
Original growth of the community was slow to develop but between 1880 and 1890 the little town had a period of increased population of over 5,000, which included an increase of 100 percent of blacks to 1,721.
In his thesis project Allem introduces in his own words the family name of Gardenhire being connected to the 1925 trial:
The same propitious year of 1884 brought to Dayton a most colorful character. This man, William C. Gardenhire, was born in Loudon, Tennessee, in 1838. After fighting in the Confederate army he migrated to Texas where he engaged in the mercantile business. Subsequently he handled mining stocks in San Francisco and then traveled to the Sandwich Islands where he purchased from King Thackembaugh four natives. These he transported to the United States, placed on display, and later sold to P.T. Barnum. They may have included the original “Man from Borneo"!
Following these adventures, Gardenhire remained in California until the news reached him of the Rhea County boom. Arriving in Dayton, he at once purchased a large plot of ground, north of the town and beyond the environs of the Smith's Cross Roads area, which he developed with such vigor that it today constitutes the downtown section of Dayton. Within 10 years, 125 buildings had been constructed. In addition to many homes, these included an opera house, a bank building, a hotel and a number of other business establishments. Lots and money were cotributed to churches which chose to build their sanctuaries in the North Dayton plat.
To make the new subdivision competitive in every respect, the entrepreneur, along with others, started a new bank, the Dayton City Bank. He actively participated in all civic activities of the town and county and pressed for moving the county seat from Washington to Dayton. This was done in 1890, and a courthouse was later erected in the Gardenhire Addition.
The Gardenhire residence during the 1925 Scopes trial was rented to several newspaper men covering the historical event according to an interview with a lady who lived in said house in Dayton.
The Gardenhire family connection to Dayton is prominently displayed by historical signs hanging over the sidewalk as one travels south from the courthouse towards Chattanooga.
Disclaimer: Any similarity to the popular elected Republican representative from the 10th Senatorial district in Tennessee and his ancestors is purely coincidental!