In 1925, the famous Scopes Trial was held in Dayton and, for a period of time, filled the town with hucksters of every description and journalists from around the world.

The participants included William Jennings Bryan in the role of prosecutor and Clarence Darrow as the principal defense counsel.

[12] H. L. Mencken famously covered the trial for the Baltimore Sun and recruited Clarence Darrow to lead the defense team.

On July 26, 1925, he drove from Chattanooga to Dayton to attend a church service, ate a meal, and died (the result of diabetes and fatigue) in his sleep that afternoon—just five days after the Scopes trial ended.

Dayton is a small manufacturing center whose products include furniture, clothing, automobile parts, and recreational vehicle components.

[19] Finland-based Nokian Tyres plans to employ around 400 at its new Dayton tire manufacturing factory which began initial operations in 2019.

[20] The Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar and Sequoyah nuclear power plants are both within 20 miles (32 km) of the city.

More recently, Dayton has hosted several major bass fishing tournaments at Chickamauga Lake including the 2014 Bassmaster BASSfest, American Bass Anglers Weekend Series, Heartland Anglers Classic, the 2013 Walmart FLW Tour and various senior, collegiate and high school events.

[21][22][23] In 2019, STULZ Air Technology Systems, an HVAC and cooling solutions manufacturer, opened a new facility in Dayton, adding over 250 new jobs.

Chattanooga State Community College operates a site in downtown Dayton with a variety of offerings including General Education core for most majors and selected career courses.

[29] Omega Graduate School, an institution of Christian postgraduate education, is located in Dayton's Crystal Springs community.