Rugby

The label

Why Rugby is called a ghost town

Rugby is listed in a long-running ghost town directory, whose entry gives its remains as most of the town, restored. The label has a real basis. Rugby was founded as a utopian colony in 1880, counted more than 400 residents by 1884, and lost most of its original settlers by late 1887. A colony that rose and fell that fast, leaving a cluster of 1880s buildings in the woods, reads like a ghost town. Rugby is not on Wikipedia's list of ghost towns in Tennessee.

History

Rugby then

The English author Thomas Hughes, who wrote Tom Brown's School Days, founded Rugby for the younger sons of the English gentry, who inherited no land under primogeniture. Franklin W. Smith of Boston's Board of Aid to Land Ownership chose the site for its forest, air and gorges, 7 miles from the nearest railroad stop at Sedgemoor, now Elgin. Hughes opened the colony on October 5, 1880. Colonists built cottages, tennis and croquet courts, the Tabard Inn and a library, and by 1884 Rugby had more than 400 residents and 65 frame public buildings and houses.

The trouble started early. Typhoid killed seven colonists in 1881, land-title lawsuits dragged on, and the plateau's soil was poor. The Tabard burned in 1884 and a tomato cannery failed for lack of tomatoes. After several prominent colonists died in 1887, most of the original settlers left. The company that took over in 1892 turned to timber and other resources, and by 1900 it had sold its plateau holdings. A few families stayed, and the village kept a small, continuous population through the 20th century.

1880. Rugby opens on October 5; the first frame building, now Pioneer Cottage, goes up early in the year.

1881. Typhoid kills seven colonists and closes the Tabard Inn for a time.

1882. The Thomas Hughes Library is built.

1884. More than 400 residents; the Tabard Inn burns.

1887. Christ Church is built; most original colonists have died or left by late in the year.

1892. The Board of Aid is reorganized as the Rugby Tennessee Company.

1900. The company has sold its Cumberland Plateau holdings.

1966. Historic Rugby, a nonprofit, is formed to restore the village.

1972. The Rugby Colony historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

2013. The Rugby Bypass opens in December, taking SR 52 traffic around the village.

Today

What is there now

Rugby is an unincorporated community in Morgan and Scott counties, with a newer residential area, Beacon Hill, on its north side. Historic Rugby owns and shows the colony's surviving buildings, among them the 1882 Thomas Hughes Library, Hughes's 1884 house Kingstone Lisle, the 1887 Christ Church Episcopal, whose parish still meets there, and the 1907 schoolhouse. It has also rebuilt several, such as the Board of Aid office and the commissary.

Its website, read October 29, 2026, gives the visitor centre's hours as Thursday to Saturday 9 to 5 and Sunday noon to 5, Eastern time. Guided tours run Thursday to Sunday from mid-March to mid-December, and 2026 tour prices are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 60 and over, $5 for K-12 students, with preschoolers free. The 22-minute film at the visitor centre is free. Lodging in Newbury House and the Percy and Pioneer cottages is offered year-round. Trails lead from the village to the Meeting of the Waters and the Gentlemen's Swimming Hole in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. Private homes in Rugby are not part of the tour.

Historic maps

Rugby on USGS maps, 1895–1979

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the map point. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

18951:125,00019521:24,00019791:100,000

Map & directions

Getting there

Rugby is on the Cumberland Plateau between Jamestown and US 27 at Elgin. Both routes below end in the historic village on Rugby Parkway, the old route of SR 52 through town.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Times assume dry roads.

Photos

Rugby in photos

Christ Church Episcopal, built in 1887, in March 2010.The schoolhouse of 1907, which replaced the colony's first school, in March 2010.Kingstone Lisle, the cottage Thomas Hughes had built in 1884, in March 2010.Newbury House, an inn built by colonist Ross Brown in 1880 and still let to guests, in March 2010.Laurel Dale Cemetery, laid out by the colonists in the 1880s, in March 2010.The Board of Aid office, a reconstruction of the 1880 original, in March 2010.Uffington House, built in 1881 for Hughes's mother, Margaret Hughes, in March 2010.The Rugby Printing Works, an 1880s building moved here from Deer Lodge, in March 2010.Pioneer Cottage, the colony's first frame building of 1880, in March 2010.The Rugby Commissary, a reconstruction of the 1880s colony store, in March 2010.Percy Cottage, a reconstruction of Sir Henry Kimber's 1884 cottage, in March 2010.The Thomas Hughes Library of 1882, which still holds most of its original books, in March 2010.

Questions

Common questions

Is Rugby, Tennessee a ghost town?

No. The 1880 colony failed, but Rugby kept a small population and today is a lived-in village whose historic buildings are cared for and shown by Historic Rugby (website, read October 29, 2026).

Can you visit Rugby?

Yes. Start at the Rugby Visitor Centre. Guided tours run Thursday to Sunday from mid-March to mid-December; 2026 adult tickets are $10 (Historic Rugby website, read October 29, 2026). Private homes are not open.

Can you stay overnight in Rugby?

Yes. Historic Rugby lets Newbury House, Percy Cottage, Pioneer Cottage and two newer cottages year-round (website, read October 29, 2026).

Nearby

Ghost towns and sites near Rugby

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Tennessee index.

• Montgomery17.8 mi S · Morgan
• Fork Mountain22.5 mi SE · Anderson
• Olympus30.9 mi NW · Pickett
• Wheat34.5 mi SE · Roane
• Willow Grove38.9 mi NW · Clay
• Calderwood71.7 mi SE · Monroe
• Tellico Plains72.3 mi S · Monroe
• Tremont77.2 mi SE · Blount

Sources

Sources and credits

1. Wikipedia, "Rugby, Tennessee", read October 29, 2026: the colony's founding, the October 5, 1880 opening, the 1881 typhoid outbreak, the 1884 population and buildings, the 1884 Tabard fire, the 1887 departures, the 1892 company and 1900 land sale, the continuous population, Historic Rugby (1966), the 1972 National Register listing, the 2013 bypass, Beacon Hill, the buildings and their dates, coordinates.
2. Historic Rugby, read October 29, 2026: "living Victorian village", visitor centre hours, lodging, trails.
3. Historic Rugby, "When You Visit", read October 29, 2026: tour days and season, 2026 tour prices, the free film, year-round lodging.
4. Historic Rugby, events calendar, read October 29, 2026: events scheduled through December 31, 2026.
5. ghosttowns.com, "Rugby", read October 29, 2026: the ghost town listing and its remains, "most of the town, restored".
6. Wikipedia, "List of ghost towns in Tennessee", read October 29, 2026: Rugby not listed.
7. Historic maps: USGS Wartburg 1895, Rugby 1952 and Oakridge 1979 sheets. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

• Christ Church Episcopal, built in 1887, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• The schoolhouse of 1907, which replaced the colony's first school, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• Kingstone Lisle, the cottage Thomas Hughes had built in 1884, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• Newbury House, an inn built by colonist Ross Brown in 1880 and still let to guests, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• Laurel Dale Cemetery, laid out by the colonists in the 1880s, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry (photographer), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• The Board of Aid office, a reconstruction of the 1880 original, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• Uffington House, built in 1881 for Hughes's mother, Margaret Hughes, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• The Rugby Printing Works, an 1880s building moved here from Deer Lodge, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• Pioneer Cottage, the colony's first frame building of 1880, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• The Rugby Commissary, a reconstruction of the 1880s colony store, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• Percy Cottage, a reconstruction of Sir Henry Kimber's 1884 cottage, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• The Thomas Hughes Library of 1882, which still holds most of its original books, in March 2010.: Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
• Current topographic map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Wartburg 1895, 1:125,000; Rugby 1952, 1:24,000; Oakridge 1979, 1:100,000.