Monument Stands To Remember Those Fighting Men and Women From Rhea County With World War II raging overseas, back at home the Dayton Junior Chamber of Commerce (DJCOC) was busy putting together a project that would memorialize or honor the fighting men and women from Rhea County who had been doing a wonderful job protecting…
County Wide
County Wide Victory Scrap Metal Drive November 1942
Here is graphic proof of the effort put forth by the community to support the scrap metal drive. In one-half day, the Junior Commandos of Spivey rounded up 5,000 lbs. of scrap even after the regular school drive had been finished. (Photo Courtesy Glass Family Collection) Rhea County Supports War Effort with 275,000 lbs scrap…
Grand Ole Opry Stars Visit Dayton and Spring City 1944
Grand Ole Opry Tent Theater makes visit to Rhea County During the 1940’s, the Grand Ole Opry Show from Music City USA, Nashville, Tennessee made guest appearances in various communities throughout the south eastern United States. This show was known as the “Grand Ole Opry Tent Theater”. Each week various stars and celebrities from the…
Rhea County Hospital New Emergency Room 1979
Hospital staff pose for this photo of the new Emergency Room in 1979. (Photo Courtesy of Cunnyngham Studio Archives) New Emergency Room replaces Outdated 1957 E.R. The feature photo above shows the brand-new Emergency Room at the Rhea County Hospital in early 1979. When the hospital was built in 1957, the trend towards the heavy…
Old Pennine Post Office
The old Pennine Post Office was a landmark that had been located on Hwy 27 about three miles south of Spring City. It was formerly known as the post office for Sheffield, Tennessee. The name was changed to Pennine to avoid confusion in railroad shipments with Sheffield, Alabama. Prior to being called Sheffield, it had…
Sawyers Funeral Service 1941-1986
Sawyers Family provided 45 Years of Service To Our Community The older generations of Dayton and the surrounding areas certainly recognize the name Sawyers Funeral Home. The father-son family business served our families for over four decades. Colyar Paxton Sawyers, who was always known as C.P. Sawyers, was born and raised on a farm in…
Rhea County & The Civil War
Rhea County of Long Ago… Researched and written by Clyde Roddy February 1976 When the storm cloud of the sixties swept over the Country, the hardy citizens of Rhea County knew something of the approaching storm; they were intelligent and patriotic and knew that compromise after compromise had been made through Congress to avoid the…
Courthouse Clock repaired; rings after 12 years of silence
The Rhea County Courthouse was built in 1891. The clock mechanism that rings the bell in the Rhea County Courthouse bell tower was built and installed in March of 1893, two years after the courthouse was built. According to the plate on the front, the clock mechanism #747 was built on March 15, 1893, by…
Washington Jail Foundation Uncovered 1975
In November of 1975, the foundation of the old Washington Jail was uncovered on the site where it once stood in the Washington community. Pictured above to the right is J.R. Byrd. He was 87 years old at the time of this photo and was a resident in the Washington Community. He stated then that…
Strawberries As A Commercial Crop by Clyde Roddy
Rhea County of Long Ago….. Researched and Written by Clyde Roddy May 1976 The culture of strawberries in Rhea County was a vocation of no small importance. The quick results and enormous profits obtained, and the fact that this berry grew to a state of perfection on lands that could be purchased at less than…