Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Tennessee Rugby Rugby Colony

Rugby Colony

A failed utopian experiment for British expats in the American South is now a Victorian village frozen in time.

Rugby, Tennessee

Added By
Molly McBride Jacobson
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The Thomas Hughes Library in Historic Rugby.   Brian Stansberry/CC BY 3.0
The original painted library door.   Joel Kramer/CC BY 2.0
Inside the Thomas Hughes Library in Historic Rugby.   Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress/LC-HS503- 5404/Public Domain
R. M. Brooks General Store in Historic Rugby.   Brian Stansberry/CC BY 3.0
The schoolhouse bell.   Joel Kramer/CC BY 2.0
The Rugby schoolhouse.   Brian Stansberry/CC BY 3.0
Kingstone Lisle in Historic Rugby.   Brian Stansberry/CC BY 3.0
The community building in Historic Rugby.   Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress/LC-HS503- 5405/Public Domain
Percy Cottage in Historic Rugby.   Brian Stansberry/CC BY 3.0
Christchurch Episcopal in Historic Rugby.   Brian Stansberry/CC BY 3.0
Newbury House, an inn in Historic Rugby.   Brian Stansberry/CC BY 3.0
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Rugby, Tennessee, was established in 1880 as an experimental Utopian community for British expats in the American South. It was to incorporate the best parts of America with the best parts of England—civilized, hardworking Christians sharing in an agricultural community without harsh class distinctions. 

In its first decade, Rugby thrived. It attracted younger sons of landed British gentry, who, by birthright, received nothing of their fathers' estates, as well as Americans seeking a planned community and culture. The self-selecting crowd reached about 300. They enjoyed a swath of highbrow pursuits, such as theatre, croquet, literary clubs. Around 70 buildings were constructed in a stately Victorian style, including the Tabard Inn (named for the one in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales) and a free public library named for the town's founder, Thomas Hughes, a popular British author of the period. 

But there was soon trouble in paradise. A typhoid outbreak killed a number of Rugby residents, and because newspapers were watching the town's progress closely, the tragedy was widely reported on. The Tabard Inn burnt down two times in as many decades. The town suffered financial troubles too, despite the fact that Hughes funneled $75,000 of his own funds into development. He tried to start a tomato cannery, but the inexperienced farmers were unable to produce enough tomatoes. Newspapers ridiculed Hughes and Rugby, and by 1900 it was nearly deserted, with only a handful of residents remaining.

Sixty years later Brian Stagg stumbled upon the dilapidated community and vowed to make it a historic landmark. By creating the Historic Rugby Foundation, Stagg was able to restore the buildings that still stood and rebuild the ones that had been destroyed, according to their original Victorian design. Now, Rugby is one part museum, one part town. Nearly 85 people live in the historic homes, and the community is still growing, with plans to build a park and more houses. The Historic Rugby Foundation hosts tours and events that uphold traditional Victorian crafts and pastimes. There are Appalachian storytellers, English dancers, ghost tours, wood whittling workshops, and of course, lots of people in period dress.  

The Rugby Colony was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and retains several original Carpenter Gothic-style landmarks, including Christ Church Episcopal, Thomas Hughes Free Public Library, Rugby School, Kingstone Lisle, Uffington House, and Newbury House. The library is considered one of the oldest freestanding public libraries remaining in the South. 

Related Tags

Utopias Utopia Week Cities Victorian

Community Contributors

Added By

Molly McBride Jacobson

Edited By

Robbie D Jones, mikermnz

  • Robbie D Jones
  • mikermnz

Published

September 13, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby,_Tennessee
Rugby Colony
TN-52
Rugby, Tennessee, 37733
United States
36.361076, -84.702424
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Mark Twain Spring Park

Jamestown, Tennessee

miles away

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

Petros, Tennessee

miles away

Cordell Hull Birthplace Museum

Byrdstown, Tennessee

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tennessee

Tennessee

United States

Places 168
Stories 15

Nearby Places

Mark Twain Spring Park

Jamestown, Tennessee

miles away

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

Petros, Tennessee

miles away

Cordell Hull Birthplace Museum

Byrdstown, Tennessee

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tennessee

Tennessee

United States

Places 168
Stories 15

Related Stories and Lists

15 Places Improbably Frozen in Time

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • The dragon.

    London, England

    Temple Bar Memorial Dragon

    The fierce beast perches atop a pedestal marking where the historic City of London gates once stood.

  • Habitat 67

    Montreal, Québec

    Habitat 67

    This 1967 experiment in modular architecture was designed to be a new model for urban living.

  • Utopia College in Eureka, Kansas. Later renamed Midwest Institute.

    Eureka, Kansas

    Utopia College

    A college in rural Kansas founded to prepare the country for an impending World War III.

  • Lyford’s Tower with Angel Island in the background

    Belvedere Tiburon, California

    Lyford's Tower

    Once the gateway to the utopian dream-village of a Civil War embalmer.

  • The old print shop at Brook Farm

    Boston, Massachusetts

    Brook Farm

    Site of a famous 19th-century transcendentalist utopian community, now abandoned.

  • Aerial View with Plac Centralny at bottom center

    Krakow, Poland

    Nowa Huta

    This sprawling concrete suburb of Kraków was designed by the Soviet Union as the model proletarian city.

  • The Frank Lloyd Wright gas station today

    Cloquet, Minnesota

    Frank Lloyd Wright Gas Station

    The famed architect designed this Minnesota gas station of the future with a lookout tower.

  • Auroville

    Bommayapalayam, India

    Auroville

    This experimental utopian "city of the future" in rural India may hold a dark secret.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.