Tucked away off Tennessee Highway 52, about an hour’s drive northwest of Knoxville, the little-known town of Rugby looks much like it did in the 1880s. Rugby, founded begun in 1880 as a sort of Utopian colony, still has numerous Victorian-era homes and buildings, making it a great place for a weekend trip.

The village house museums, welcome center, shops and restaurant close in winter and re-open in spring. While many homes are still privately owned, tourists can walk along the streets anytime.

The site adjoins the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, which offers plenty of hiking trails.

About Rugby

In 1880, Thomas Hughes, an English author, was seeing a trend that bothered him: Because only the oldest sons could inherit estates under English law, second and third sons were left without property or work. He hoped to build a place in the U.S. where the talents of second-born sons could be put to use.

Hughes named the town for a city in England. His plan was for the town’s residents to farm and support themselves, but eventually problems such as outbreaks of disease, land disputes and people unaccustomed to hard manual labor caused most residents to leave the town.

Some people remained, however, and in the 1960s, those residents as well as descendants of the Rugby colonists began to restore the historic buildings and opened them to the public. Learn more at the town’s website.

Here is a list of some of the sites in Rugby:

• The Visitor Center, where guests can see a documentary of the village
• Kingstone Lisle house, built 1884
• Christ Church Episcopal, built 1887
• Oak Lodge, built 1880
• Rugby schoolhouse, built 1906
• Thomas Hughes Library, 1882
• Rugby Community Building
• Beacon Hill Bandstand
• Laurel Dale Cemetery
• Rugby Commissary, a reconstruction of the 1880 original
• Board of Aid to Land Ownership Office, a reconstruction of the 1880 original
• Rugby Printing Works, circa-1880
• Harrow Road Café

Don’t miss the R.M. Brooks Store, located down Highway 52 near the entrance of Rugby. The 100-year-old general store also has a small café area that is known for the fried bologna sandwiches.

Read More about the Brooks Store: This tiny mercantile has served for a century

Lodging

If you need a place to stay inside the village, you can find a list of Victorian rentals at HistoricRugby.org.

Because of its location near Big South Fork Recreation Area, there are lots of RV parks. Need to rent an RV? Check out RVshare.com.

Plenty of cabins can also be found in the area to rent, like these listed at Vrbo.com.

The Rugby village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Today, it is maintained by Historic Rugby Inc., a nonprofit organization established in 1966.