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Yesterday in Dayton

Reminiscing Days Gone By In Dayton, Graysville and Spring City Tn.

Rhea County, Tennessee's Historical Past

Welcome to Yesterday in Dayton's home on the web. A place to come and reminisce about days gone by in the place we call home. Rhea County rich in history is comprised of three municipalities Dayton, Graysville and Spring City Tennessee.

We have a rich history within out county and this site will touch on past historical events of Rhea County Tennessee and the municipalities that are with the county. We will also share remembrances of those beloved citizens from here that have gone on before us.

I hope you enjoy the site and all its history posted here. If you have photos or information that you'd like to see preserved and shared then please call on me. All photos and documents are always credited to the person/family who provides them.

Latest Posts

Freight Train Derailment Graysville Tennessee September 9, 1949

By Dean | March 27, 2023

One man was killed, and four others were injured, two seriously, about 2:45am on Friday morning September 9, 1949, when the last 13 cars of a 57-car southbound Southern Railway freight train left the tracks and crashed into six section gang sleeping cars parked on a siding a quarter-mile south of Graysville, Tennessee. George Jones,...

Becky Welch Miss Dayton 1965

By Dean | March 20, 2023

Miss Becky Welch, daughter of Mrs. Carol Welch was 16 years old when she was crowned as Miss Dayton 1965 in a contest sponsored by the Dayton Jaycettes. Miss Welch a junior at Rhea Central High School was a cheerleader for three years. She was active in the Pep Club, “R” Club, Bible Club and...

Dayton Opera House Razed

By Dean | March 13, 2023

Progress takes Old Dayton Opera House September 1937 In September 1937, the demands of progress claimed a landmark in downtown Dayton. The old Dayton Opera House, which began its career as a community center for the exhibition of dramatic art, was scheduled to be demolished to make way for the new post office building. The...

Oster Plant 1966-1988

November 16, 2019 | Dayton | Comments (0)

On March 5, 1987, in a special called meeting with the City of Dayton officials, Oster President Lawrence Mattson informed those present that corporate restructuring prompted the decision to close the Dayton plant in March of 1988. "The decision to close both the Dayton, TN and the Milwaukee, WI pla

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Miss Dayton Welcomes John Thomas Scopes To Town

November 16, 2019 | Scopes Trial Related | Comments (0)

Miss Dayton Nancy Shipley Welcomes John Thomas Scopes To Town On 35th Anniversary Of Famous Trial. Nancy Shipley had not yet been born when John Thomas Scopes was convicted in 1925 of violating Tennessee's newly passed Butler Act. A trial in which the world has come to know as "The Monkey Trial".

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Leon Calloway Recalled Communities History

November 16, 2019 | Spring City | Comments (0)

leon Calloway was 72 when he recounted some of his memories In July of 1983 Leon Calloway recounted some of his memories of Spring City. We have shared with you below his story in his own words “I recall the downtown area consisted of one drugstore, Collins Brothers Dry Goods Store, Reed’s

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Tid Bits From Around Rhea County

Roddy Girl Struck by Car

Roddy Community- Miss Thelma Bare, 15, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wiley Bare, of Roddy, was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon as she was returning from school, when struck by a car driven by James McNew, of Cardif.

The accident occurred at the intersection of the Mountain road with the Airline Highway a short distance from the school house. According to other school children who witnessed the accident, Thelma, in passing around a car parked on the cross road, stepped in front of the approaching machine. She was thrown about one hundred feet.

At the Chamberlain Hospital in Rockwood, where she was taken, it was found she suffered a fractured skull, a broken leg and numbers cuts and bruises. Her condition was pronounced serious.

(Dayton Herald January 31, 1935)

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