Historic Rugby in Tennessee on Cumberland Plateau near Big South Fork English Village

Welcome to Historic Rugby

Time stands still at Rugby, Tennessee - the restored Victorian village founded in 1880 by British author and social reformer, Thomas Hughes. It was to be a cooperative, class-free, agricultural community for younger sons of English gentry and others wishing to start life anew in America. At its peak in the mid-1880s, some 300 people lived in the colony. More than 65 buildings of Victorian design graced the townscape on East Tennessee's beautiful Cumberland Plateau.

This would-be Utopia survives today as both a living community and a fascinating public historic site, unspoiled by modern development. Twenty original buildings still stand, nestled between the Big South Fork National Recreation Area and the Rugby State Natural Area, surrounded by rugged river gorges and historic trails. Historic Rugby has been open to the public since 1966 and is nationally recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and many others as one of the most authentically restored and preserved communities in America.

Click the "When You Visit" link above to start planning your Historic Rugby trip. Your visit to Historic Rugby will become a treasured memory.

"There is this lovely corner of God's earth which has been intrusted to us. What, as a community, is our first duty with regard to it? There can be no hesitation about the answer. It is to treat it lovingly and reverently. We can add little, perhaps, to its natural beauty, but at least we can be careful to spoil it as little as possible." - Thomas Hughes’ Opening Day Speech - Oct. 5, 1880

Upcoming Events

41st RUGBY VILLAGE PILGRIMAGE

September 04, 2010 - 10:00 am

The Largest Historic Building Tour In East Tennessee..... Visit 20+ Museum Buildings, Lodgings, and Private Historic and New Period Homes..... Enjoy Morris Dancing, Music & Period Demonstrations

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Directions to Rugby »

Historic Rugby Vision

British-founded Rugby, Tennessee, is a rare example of a rural, living community that survives from its 1880s utopian beginnings with its town plan intact, many buildings and its natural setting preserved and with no encroaching incompatible development. This is the result of a long chain of human effort to preserve it, inspired by its founder's vision of equality and cooperation, community planning and natural resources stewardship. Rugby and its heritage must be preserved for all time and shared with this and future generations.

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