I was invited by the sweetest folks in a little place called Rugby recently to come and visit their hidden gem of a town. I had been through the area before, but with limited time, so I welcomed the chance to go back and learn more.
When I say hidden gem of a town, I am not exaggerating. This may be one of the best kept secrets in the state of Tennessee. It’s located in a beautiful part of the state atop the Cumberland Plateau. Rugby is one of those places you visit where you just feel at home. The locals are welcoming and there’s a spirit of community here that is almost tangible.
The History
This little Victorian village began back in 1880 as an experiment by British author, Thomas Hughes. Hughes was a lawyer and was even a one-time member of Parliament. His goal in America was to create a utopian community that was class-free and agriculture-focused. It was named for Hughes’ alma mater back in England. Rugby began to thrive by the mid-1880s. Folks from around America and Britain were coming to the village to settle.
An establishment known as “The Tabard Inn” was opened as a grand social attraction for the area. The Thomas Hughes Public Library was perhaps the crown jewel of the village and numerous other businesses opened and operated. Rugby even had its own paper distributed weekly.
That success was short-lived as promises of a spur line from the Cincinnati-Southern Railroad to Rugby never solidified. Typhoid fever began to spread and took the lives of seven settlers. Many residents began to leave in a panic. The grand Tabard Inn burned not once, but twice over the years. The once energetic village was left with only a handful of folks by the early 1890s.
While founder Thomas Hughes never actually lived in the town that he founded, he visited for about a month or so each year. His mother, brother, and niece came in the early years to help try and make it a success. His mother Margaret was one of Rugby’s most venerated residents and was known as “Madame” Hughes. She lived there until her death in 1887.
Though the population had dwindled, those handful of folks tried to keep the community afloat. In 1966, a sixteen year-old boy named Brian Stagg (who lived in nearby Deer Lodge) discovered the beauty of Rugby and formed a nonprofit called Historic Rugby to bring it back to life. Rugby was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The home pictured at the top of this page is the reconstructed Alexander-Perrigo House. This was originally a boarding house that was operated by the Samuel Alexander family in the 1890s and next by Ora and Winfield Scott Perrigo. It's now The Spirit of Red Hill Nature Art and Oddiments and lodging.
Rugby Today
Today Rugby is still a small community, but it’s thriving once again! Many of the remaining original structures have been restored or rebuilt. The rich history has been preserved through it’s historic architecture, culture, and frequent events.
They offer tours of several of the original buildings. The Thomas Hughes Public Library is a favorite of mine. Several original buildings are also available for lodging when you visit. One of those being The Newbury Inn, which I was invited to stay in, and it was incredible! It’s like stepping back in time.
Rugby holds many events throughout the year so it seems there is always something to do. We visited during The Founder’s Day Celebration and we enjoyed the Cornet Band concert and the Michaelmas Tea! They even had their first cake walk which was so fun.
There’s also hiking for those that are outdoorsy, a swimming hole for the hotter months, shops for picking up souveniers, and a very informative Visitor’s Centre.
Their cafe burned a few years ago and while they are in the process of renovating that, they offer a tasty food truck known as “The Canteen” and there’s also a sweet old general merchandise store that serves a super tasty breakfast called R. M. Brooks!
Of course, you know that my absolute favorite part was getting to capture all the beautiful old homes that dot the little roads throughout the community. Staying in one of them was absolutely the icing on the cake! Thank you Historic Rugby for that treat! While this may be considered a Tennessee tourist destination, you’d almost never know it because it’s so laid back. We enjoyed quiet walks in the evenings just taking in the architecture and beauty of the Cumberland Plateau. I think that was one of my favorite parts.
There is so much more that I could cover here in this post, but I’ll save some for later. I truly admire the work they are doing in Rugby to keep the history here alive while fostering a spirit of continued community among the locals. They manage to do all of this while welcoming tourists from all over to discover this British-American village for themselves. I’ll leave you with the words of Thomas Hughes himself. Though his vision didn’t turn out exactly like he had planned, he wrote these words in a letter to one of the residents there in Rugby before he died.
“that good seed was sown when Rugby was founded and that someday the reapers will come along with joy, bearing heavy sheaves with them.”
Thank you so much to everyone in Rugby for being so kind and sharing your sweet town with us! We’ll be back!
Keep up with everything Rugby at the links below.
