Governor Thomas Clarke Rye

Tom C. Rye was born in Camden on June 2, 1863. He moved to Paris, Tennessee in 1902, where he was elected attorney general of the 13th Judicial District. Rye was governor of Tennessee from 1915 to 1919. He supported prohibition and the Ouster Law, which helped unseat Boss Crump as mayor of Memphis. Governor Rye established the first state highway department and the first state board of education. He was chancellor of the 8th Chancery Court for twenty years. Rye died on Sept. 12, 1953, and is buried in Maplewood Cemetery.

Paris, Tennessee · United States