The town
Dayton
County-seat energy, courthouse history, and a lake that keeps breaking records.
Rhea County's seat on Chickamauga Lake, with a genuine downtown around an 1891 National Historic Landmark courthouse, a college on the hill, waterfalls out the back door, and a bass fishery with a national name.
- County Rhea (county seat)
- Water Chickamauga Lake
- Since 1947 Tennessee Strawberry Festival
The lay of the land
What it’s like here.
Dayton balances three identities better than most small cities: courthouse town, college town, lake town. The 1891 Rhea County Courthouse, a National Historic Landmark and site of the 1925 Scopes Trial, with its museum on the ground floor, anchors a downtown of local restaurants and storefronts that fills up every May for the Tennessee Strawberry Festival, running since 1947.
Bryan College, founded in 1930, adds campus life and events on the hill above town. And the lake gives Dayton its national calling card: the "Fish Dayton" tournament scene launches from the Dayton Boat Dock onto some of the most talked-about largemouth water in the country. Chattanooga is under an hour down Highway 27 when you want the city.
Around town
Scenes from Dayton.
Where it sits
On the Chattanooga–Knoxville corridor.
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Coming up around Dayton
All events →Places to know
The spots that come up in every showing.
Campus Bryan College The hilltop college born from the Scopes Trial. 
Landmark Nokian Tyres Dayton Factory The Finnish tiremaker's North American factory. 
Marina Dayton Boat Dock Dayton's front door to Chickamauga Lake. 
Landmark Rhea County Courthouse The 1891 courthouse that hosted the century's most famous trial. 
Shops & services Sam's Brick and Fig Shop Downtown Dayton's LEGO shop: bricks, minifigs, and finds. 
Shops & services Azbill Jewelry and Repair The downtown jeweler. 
Food & drink Sweet Scoops Ice Cream & Cafe Scoops and cafe plates downtown. 
Shops & services Eclipse Events Downtown Dayton's event space. 
Shops & services Studio 44 Hair studio on Market Street. 
Food & drink The Corner Spot Bakery Cafe The downtown bakery cafe. 
Shops & services The Glamour Hive Beauty studio on Market Street. 
Shops & services Main Street Music Instruments and amps downtown. 
Food & drink Banjo's BBQ Smoked barbecue on Maley Hollow. 
Food & drink Zombie Ice Cream The ice cream stop with the name you remember. 
Food & drink Taqueria Gonzalez Street-style tacos on Maley Hollow. 
Food & drink Bamboo Garden Buffet The Chinese buffet on Locust. 
Shops & services Kut 'N' Up Barbershop The Locust Street barbershop. 
Shops & services 5 Star Laundromat Coin laundry on Iowa Avenue. 
Shops & services We Care Thrift Center Thrift with a mission in the Plaza center. 
Shops & services Discovery Outlet Outlet finds in the Plaza center. 
Food & drink La Vaca Mexican in the Plaza center's corner unit. 
Shops & services Market St. Hair Hair salon at the top of Market. 
Food & drink Cookies & Cream Cookies and ice cream off the square. 
Park & outdoors Dayton Pickleball Courts Public pickleball at Walnut Street. 
Park & outdoors Pendergrass Park Downtown Dayton's front-yard park. 
Food & drink Monkey Town Brewing Company Dayton's brewpub. The nickname made a taproom. 
Food & drink 1st Avenue Pizza, Books & Treats Pizza, used books, and treats under one roof. 
Health Firefly Pediatrics A pediatrician right in Dayton. 
Food & drink Drip Express Drive-thru coffee on its own street. 
Food & drink Mejia's Crazy Burrito Burritos worth the strip-mall stop. 
Shops & services Total Auto Care The local garage on 16th Avenue. 
Shops & services Prime Treasures Treasure hunting on 16th Avenue. 
Shops & services La Hacienda Market The Latin market on 16th Avenue. 
Shops & services Posh Salon Salon in the 16th Avenue strip. 
Shops & services Top Nails Dayton Nails in the 16th Avenue strip. 
Campus Rhea County High School The county's consolidated high school in Evensville. 
Landmark La-Z-Boy Dayton Plant The furniture giant's Dayton operation. Park & outdoors Laurel-Snow State Natural Area Waterfall gorge country minutes from downtown Dayton. Pros serving Dayton
On the water
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Tournament water
The Dayton Boat Dock hosts major bass tournaments on Chickamauga, the lake that produced Tennessee's state-record largemouth.
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Everyday lake access
Ramps, docks, and lakefront parks keep the water in reach for daily use, not just tournament weekends.
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Mid-lake position
Dayton sits at Chickamauga's midpoint: riverine water upstream toward Watts Bar Dam, big open water downstream toward Chattanooga.
Worth knowing
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Rhea County Courthouse
Built 1891, restored and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. The Scopes Trial courtroom is preserved upstairs, the museum below.
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Laurel-Snow State Natural Area
2,259 acres of Walden Ridge gorge country just north of town: Laurel Falls (80 ft), Snow Falls (35 ft), and the Buzzard Point overlook on the Cumberland Trail.
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Bryan College
A residential liberal-arts college founded in 1930, whose campus overlooks the town and lake.
Your agent here
Ivey Hayes is your market expert in Dayton: Tennessee-licensed, a member of both the River Counties and Greater Chattanooga REALTOR® boards, with the region’s listings at her fingertips.