Advertisement from the Rugby newspaper, The Rugbeian and District Reporter, October 21, 1882.
The Tabard Inn became a popular resort in Rugby, Tennessee in the late 19th century. Visitors from northern cities came to breathe fresh air and drink “the waters” from nearby mineral wells. Paths and walking trails led to leisure areas and bathing in the White Oak Creek and Clear Fork River.
Rugby, located in north-central Tennessee’s Morgan County, was the utopian dream of Thomas Hughes (1822-1896), an English judge, reformer, and novelist. Funds to establish the village came from the sales of Hughes’s novel, Tom Brown’s School Days (1857)Rugby attracted around 200 people in 1880 and by 1884 had around 400 residents. At its peak, the village in rural Tennessee had a newspaper, stores, a school, church, and a 7,000 volume library.
To learn more about the history of utopian communities, see Discovering Quacks, Utopias, and Cemeteries: Modern Lessons from Historical Themes
Courtesy of Library of Congress: Chronicling America