8 Best Things To Do In Rugby, Tennessee

Explore a Tennessee town with British Isles charm.

As you wind along scenic byways in Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau, mixed hardwood forests stretch across lush landscapes. Towering walls of ruddy-brown sandstone facilitate moments of wonder. The air smells like wet river rocks drying in the sun and the sound of silence is interrupted only by the wind through the leaves. As you round a shady bend of trees, tucked in these rich, Appalachian naturescapes is something unexpected—1880s Victorian architecture checkers the roadside with cheerful paint colors and intricate woodwork. Welcome to Rugby.

Founded in 1880 by British author Thomas Hughes, Rugby was meant to be a utopian community for the younger sons of English gentry who didn’t receive inheritances like the eldest did. Hughes dreamed of a class-free, cooperative town able to flourish away from Britain’s rigidity. Hughes formed his British colony alongside the region’s established Appalachian homesteads. What grew was more than 60 Victorian-designed buildings and around 300 residents at its peak. Rugby blended British and Appalachian cultures in a way that makes it a truly unique Tennessee town—still flying the British flag alongside the American flag to this day.

Know the Best Times to Visit

Current estimates of Rugby’s year-round population range from 50 to 85 people. Volunteers manage many of the town’s services. As such, activities are limited during certain days or seasons. Before visiting, check the town’s website for the latest hours or call 423-628-2441.

In general, Sundays are particularly quiet in Rugby, with the area’s limited dining options closed and shops operating at reduced hours. If you plan to explore on a Sunday, start early or pick a date when the town is hosting a special event.

One of Rugby’s most popular activities is Irish road bowling. Played down the main road through town, participants take turns throwing an iron ball down the street. The team that makes it to the route’s finish in the fewest throws wins. If you’re one of the champions, you’ll get to pose for a photo with the charred—having survived a local fire in 2020—event trophy, and have your accomplishment declared on the town’s Facebook page.

Other events throughout the year include grill outs, paint and sip art classes, bicycle rides, British car shows, tea table setting contests, Victorian fashion shows, and afternoon teas. Founder’s Day, celebrating Thomas Hughes, is held annually in October, and the British Festival & Queen’s Tea is held every May. Both events invite music, food, games, and vendors to town for a full day of merriment. To buy tickets in advance and learn about Rugby’s upcoming offerings, check the town’s event calendar.

Eat Local or Pack a Picnic

Rugby has two dining options. R. M. Brooks General Store, a rustic little building from the 1930s, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and open every day except Wednesdays and Sundays for breakfast and lunch. Get a homemade fried pie and bologna sandwich to go or dine in for an order of biscuits and gravy while you enjoy the shop’s pot-bellied stove, rocking chairs, old-fashioned sliding soda case, original 1880s post office, and plethora of knickknacks.

The Canteen is a food truck in the town’s center adjacent to several picnic tables perfect for a relaxing outdoor lunch or dinner. It’s open Wednesday through Saturday, offering decadent hot and cold sandwiches, such as the Ploughman’s—ham, gouda, apples, mixed greens, honey, and walnut mayo on a hoagie roll. You’ll also find pork or shrimp served as tacos or alongside a healthy dose of grits.

If you can’t make the hours for these local joints, plan to pack your snacks for the day. From ancient boulders on the banks of the Clear Fork River to grassy nooks under the shade of a more than 100-year-old arborvitae tree, Rugby is peppered with picnic spots.

Take a Guided Tour of the Town

Start at the Historic Rugby Visitor Centre & Theatre when you get to town. This facility is a partnership between Historic Rugby, Inc. and Big South Fork National Recreation Area. You’ll be able to get maps, view exhibits, and ask a local historian and park ranger any questions you have. It’s also where guided town tours begin with a free showing of the 22-minute documentary, The Power of a Dream, about Rugby’s founding.

From here, your guide will walk you to the 1884 Kingstone Lisle—the town founder’s home. The elaborate Victorian building has a stained yellow pine interior with deep maroon drapes, woven rugs, and upholstered furniture. It’s filled with relics from the period, such as an 1880 baby grand piano and decorative sculptures carved by the same artist Queen Victoria herself used.

Your next stop is the 1887 Christ Church Episcopal, which still holds services today. Its stunning stained glass is original from 1889, brought over from Germany. The two panels are dedicated to important women from the town: Mary Hughes (the town founder’s mother) and Mary Blacklock (the mother of the church’s first resident priest).

As you leave the manicured grounds of the church through a row of boxwood shrubs, you’ll cross the road to the 1882 Thomas Hughes Free Public Library. The old building smells like the musty first-edition pages it hosts, with more than 7,000 books lining its floor to ceiling shelves.

The tour ends next-door at the 1907 Rugby Schoolhouse with a self-guided walk through exhibits about the town’s history, including details on its Appalachian families. Guided tours are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for students K–12, and free for younger children. They’re offered four times daily Thursday through Saturday, and twice on Sundays. The town also hosts after-dark, haunted tours, which you can reserve online.

Shop for Antiques and Local Art

As you walk through town, enjoy its local businesses housed in picturesque Victorian-style structures. The Rugby Commissary is a reconstruction of the original 1880s building that sold everything from garters to plowshares. Today, it hosts Victorian-era books and history materials, crafts and jewelry from local artisans, and products from the British Isles.

The Spirit of Red Hill Nature Art & Oddiments store is hosted in the reconstructed Alexander-Perrigo House, a boarding home built in 1890. You’ll find it filled with antiques, art, and other gifts to take as souvenirs from your visit.

Explore the Massengale Homeplace

Just behind the visitor center is an entry point to Rugby State Natural Area, a 762-acre preserve that follows Little Creek to White Oak Creek. This densely forested broad gorge boasts tulip poplars, red maples, sourwoods, northern red oaks, white oaks, and hickories. The Massengale Loop Trail is a 1.2-mile walk through these woods to the crest of Allerton Ridge. This is where the Massengale family, in the 1830s, formed the first Appalchian settlement in this portion of the Cumberland Plateau.

About mid-way through the loop, you’ll find interpretive signs explaining the archeological surveying and testing that dated the Massengales’ cabin to 1859 and see remnants of its sandstone corners, chimney, and black locust split rail fencing. A spur trail from the homeplace will take you to the family’s original springhouse, where water still trickles today.

Visit the Laurel Dale Cemetery

A short, gravel road dead-ends at the Laurel Dale Cemetery, an active graveyard that’s the resting place for many of Rugby’s early colonists. Each September, the town hosts a lantern tour of the gravesites and tells the stories of ten settlers, using their own words from letters, diaries, and other accounts. The event has limited capacity, so purchase tickets in advance.

You can also rent an audio player from the visitor center for a self-guided tour of the cemetery. You’ll hear voices of the past as you stand near headstones like that of 90-year-old Margaret E. Hughes, who passed away in 1887.

Hike to Gentleman’s Swimming Hole

Rugby is an entry point to Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, 125,000 acres of wilderness on the Cumberland Plateau that’s managed by the National Park Service. The park protects the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, along with its tributaries, and showcases towering sandstone bluffs and deep gorges. It has around 150 miles of hiking trails.

Across from Laurel Dale Cemetery, you’ll find a trailhead to Gentleman’s Swimming Hole and the Meeting of the Waters. This 2.1-mile loop was mostly built by Rugby colonists in the 1880s for the town’s men to have access to the Clear Fork River for bathing. Along the trail, you’ll find numbered posts at points of interest. You can pick up a trail guide for the loop at the visitor center, which includes historical, cultural, and geological interpretation for each stop.

If you don’t want to hike the full loop, you can opt to walk the first 0.4 miles down the gorge to Gentleman’s Swimming Hole and backtrack to the parking area—just note that it’s a steep climb, so flip flops are not advised. If you complete the loop, you’ll pass the confluence of White Oak Creek and Clear Fork River, known as the Meeting of the Waters. The trail gives a scenic taste of the park’s sandstone cliffs, caves, and slot canyons.

Stay in Historic Lodging

With its peaceful, natural surroundings, Rugby is a town where you’ll want to stay a while. Soak in its stories for a long weekend by booking one of its five historic lodging options.

The Newbury House is a large Victorian-era inn that has been hosting guests since the 1880s. The Percy Cottage, built in 1884 by Rugby financial backer Sir Henry Kimber, was reconstructed on its original foundation in 1977 and has three bedrooms. The rustic Pioneer Cottage, another three-bedroom, was Rugby’s first frame house and where the town’s founder stayed in 1880. These three rentals are all decorated with period furnishings and have modern amenities like Wi-Fi and full kitchens. You can book them online.

The Ivy Cottage is a 1940s two-bedroom home with eclectic vintage decor that was moved to town from Henry and Etta Hamlin’s farm at Horseshoe Bend. The Ivy Annex on the same property is a one-bedroom apartment decorated in a 1970s style. These options can be booked through Airbnb.

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