Clark Byers (25 January 1915 – 17 February 2004) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sign maker. He is famous for painting over 900 barns in 19 states with the slogan "See Rock City" from 1935 to 1969. A native of

Trenton, Georgia Trenton is a city and the only incorporated municipality in Dade County, Georgia, United States—and as such, it serves as the county seat. The population was 2,195 at the 2020 census. Trenton is part of the Chattanooga, Tennessee–GA Metropo ...

, Byers started painting advertising on barns in the

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and

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

for the Rock City attraction atop

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-centu ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Rock City's owners offered barn owners a free paint job and Rock City souvenirs in exchange for allowing Byers to placing a marketing message on their barns. Because the barns came in various shapes and sizes, each sign was different, but all featured white lettering on a black background, executed in freehand. The number of words and their arrangement varied, based on the size and shape of the barn. On larger barns, Byers might have painted "See 7 States from ROCK CITY atop Lookout Mt. near Chattanooga, Tenn." and on smaller barns, just "See Beautiful ROCK CITY today." Byers' efforts led to Rock City, Lookout Mountain, and Chattanooga becoming a national tourist destination.

References

''Adapted from the article Clark Byers, from

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, licensed under the

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.'' 1915 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American painters Lookout Mountain People from Trenton, Georgia American male painters 20th-century American male artists Painters from Georgia (U.S. state) {{US-artist-stub