Historic Town of Rugby, Tennessee
5545 Rugby Hwy, Rugby, TN 37733
Thur/Fri/Sat 9-5 Eastern, Sun Noon-5. Tours 10, Noon, 2, 4 and Sundays 1 & 3 Eastern
$
road-trips
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Explore this HIstoric and Unique Tennessee Town!
We love the Cumberland Plateau area and we typically spent most of our time outdoors enjoying everything that nature has to offer. However, we happened upon the town of Rugby, TN and it is well worth a half a day visit if you need a change of pace or scenery and are already in the Big South Fork Area.
Rugby was actually founded by British author and social reformer Thomas Hughes, who founded it for England's "second sons" - those who didn't inherit any of their families wealth due to birth order. It resulted in a Utopian like Victorian village and much of it's lovely, quaint architecture has been preserved to this day. There is a nice museum, a tour, and several antique stores that provide context into the history and evolution of the town - even if it was a short-lived idea.
We found this article extremely helpful by one of our most favorite regional blogs, StyleBlueprint.
Directions:
Historic Rugby is located on Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau, between Knoxville and Crossville. From Knoxville, travel either I-75 North to Exit 141 (Huntsville/Oneida), then Highway 63 to a left on Highway 27. Turn right on Highway 52 and follow the signs; or (from the west side of town) take Pelissippi Parkway (62) through Oak Ridge, then turn right onto 27 at Oliver Springs. Follow 27 to Elgin, then turn on left on 52 and follow the signs to a marked right on Rugby Pkwy.
From Crossville, follow Highway 127 North to Jamestown, then right onto Route 296 through Allardt. Follow Highway 52 to a marked left onto Rugby Pkwy. In Eastern time zone, barely!