The trial became a clash of titans between lawyers William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution and Clarence Darrow for the defense, and epitomizes the tension between fundamentalism and modernism in a wide range of aspects of American society.

The building interior has many original features, including the main courtroom on the second floor, where the Scopes monkey trial took place.

The state was represented by renowned orator and fundamentalist Christian icon William Jennings Bryan, and Scopes was defended by an ACLU-funded team headed by noted criminal defense lawyer Clarence Darrow.

Although Scopes was convicted in a highly sensationalized trial, the culture clash between legal principles, as well as fundamentalism and modernism left an enduring mark on American society.

Here, from July 10 to 21, 1925, JohnThomas Scopes, a county high school teacher, was tried for teaching that a man descended from a lower order of animals in violation of a lately passed state law.

William Jennings Bryan assisted the prosecution; Clarence Darrow, Arthur Garfield Hays, and Dudley Field Malone the defense.