Currently, about 70 residents live in Rugby, and 20 of the original Victorian buildings still stand in rugged river gorge surroundings.
Thomas Hughes, the founder of Rugby, never gave up on his vision of creating a new society in the Tennessee wilderness. In a letter to some of the remaining settlers before his death in 1896, Hughes wrote: "I can't help feeling and believing that good seed was sown when Rugby was founded, and someday the reapers, whoever they may be, will come along with joy bearing heavy sheaves with them."
Rugby dwindled but was never deserted. Individual residents over the decades struggled to keep its fascinating heritage alive.
In 1966, non-profit Historic Rugby was formed to begin the task of restoring and preserving the village.
In 1972, Rugby was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a renovation project was started. Each year thousands come to Rugby and travel back in time to a Victorian village that preserves a lifestyle that has long been forgotten.
Currently, about 70 residents live in Rugby, and 20 of the original Victorian buildings still stand in rugged river gorge surroundings.
Well-trained guides conduct walking tours beginning at the Schoolhouse Visitor Centre and continuing to the Thomas Hughes Library, Christ Church, and Kingstone Lisle.
A new building project, known as Beacon Hill, is currently underway in Rugby. Residents are building beautiful vacation and residential homes in keeping with the Victorian architecture used in the original buildings.
The next major undertaking by the Rugby Historical Society is the rebuilding of the Tabard Inn.
