Judge Ray L. Reagan moved many Sevier County projects forward. Photo courtesy of Jan Reagan Todd
One member of Dupont’s Reagan family did a great deal to create the Sevier County of today.
Ray L. Reagan was a longtime county judge who did double duty as County Executive. He lived in Dupont all his life and is buried there.
Judge Ray Lawrence Reagan came by the judgeship in a roundabout way. When he was first elected in 1958, a law degree wasn’t necessary to become a judge. “He was not a lawyer but he made sure he knew the law,” said his daughter, Jan Reagan Todd.
Ray Reagan, born in 1921, attended Harrison-Chilhowee Baptist Academy in Seymour and was the first in his family to graduate high school. He married Martha Louise Ogle at Fort Oglethorpe, GA in 1943 where he underwent basic training. He served in the Army Air Corps (now the Air Force) as a mechanic and sergeant in France and Germany during World War II.
On his return, he and his wife ran a country store and a farm in Dupont as well as other jobs. He became a Justice of the Peace. In 1958, running with the slogan “Vote with your conscience,” he won the position of County Judge.
In those days, “County Judge” had a broad meaning. It involved the duties of what was later called County Executive then County Mayor, basically running the county, as well as Juvenile and General Sessions judgeships. “It was all one job,” Jan said. “He did it all.”
That included marrying couples who picked up marriage licenses just across the hall from his office in the courthouse. When the groom asked how much that service cost, Reagan would answer, “Whatever you think she’s worth.” Not an easy question for the groom to answer!
In his 20 years as Judge and County Executive, Ray Reagan accomplished a lot. He helped to establish Sevier County Hospital, the forerunner of LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville, and its nursing home. The county’s first industrial park on Dolly Parton Parkway opposite Sevier County High School was named after him: the Ray L. Reagan Memorial Industrial Park. He worked to set up the airport in Sevierville, now known as the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport, as well as a veterans’ office at the courthouse.
“He worked diligently” on getting the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River rerouted away from Sevierville’s downtown business area, Jan said. Whenever the river ran high, the area suffered from devastating floods. In the mid-1960s, the Tennessee Valley Authority finally changed the course of the West Prong away from downtown to its present position, allowing the business area to expand safely. As a result, the bridge on Highway 66 that crosses the French Broad River was named the Ray L. Reagan Bridge.
Another project almost fell in the judge’s lap. The courthouse tower was in bad repair, and one day the belfry collapsed and the bell fell into his courtroom. “He said, ‘Folks, I guess it’s time to remodel,’” Jan said. He oversaw courthouse renovations in 1971.
He remained County Judge until 1978; he died that year and is buried in Dupont Cemetery.
“He was very forward-thinking,” Jan said of her father. “He wanted the best for everybody in the county.”
She too became involved in courthouse work when he gave her a box of papers to sort out. That box represented all the county’s juvenile court records at the time. Eventually she worked for 25 years in Juvenile, Circuit and General Sessions Courts, which became separate departments with their own staffs and computerized record keeping.
I’d like to thank Jan Reagan Todd for the information and photos she generously provided for this article and also the Reagantown/Dupont post. I’d love to hear from other local people with interesting stories to tell about their ancestry.
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