When the sun rises Friday, Clarence Darrow will stand opposite his “Scopes Monkey Trial” foe, William Jennings Bryan, on the Rhea County Courthouse lawn for the first time since their 1925 showdown.
A statue of Darrow by Pennsylvania sculptor Zenos Frudakis will stand on the north side at the front of the courthouse to balance Bryan’s likeness, erectd in 2005, on the south.
A dedication and unveiling ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Friday, the first day of the annual Scopes Trial Play and Festival, which continues through July 23.
Frudakis’ 7-foot bronze statue, two years in the making, will be installed Thursday, according to a statement from Frudakis Studio.
“When I learned there was no statue of Clarence Darrow anywhere in the U.S., much less the site of his most famous court case, I felt compelled to correct this,” Frudakis said. “Memorializing Darrow alongside the existing Bryan statue will now at least balance the views inherent in the trial, and accurately reflect history, as well as symbolically re-create the court drama which captured the attention of the nation.”