News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Historic Rugby making final preparations before reopening for the summer season.
Visitor Center Representative Brian Whitson said over 20 historic structures that have been preserved since the community’s founding in the 1880s. He said with a community of private residents also in the area, it provides a unique opportunity for visitors to see where the past meets the present.
“So when you mix everything together you’ve kind of got a continuation in the modern world of what Thomas Hughes invented in the 1880s,” Whitson said. “So even though his colony declined, there have been aspects and that idea that have stayed true to today.”
Whitson said Rugby’s team has been busy preparing the site during its winter off-season. He said they have been pouring into research to better the archives and guided tours around the community.
Whitson said there have also been significant efforts to maintain the buildings and grounds. He said management has had its hands full preserving all of the historic buildings and exhibits.
Rugby Village is located at the junction of Fentress, Morgan and Scott Counties. The Victorian colony failed to survive but left behind a tourist attraction later added to the National Register of Historic Places.
