Rugby is a restored Victorian utopian village founded in 1880 by English author Thomas Hughes as a colony for second-born sons. Though the experiment faded by 1887, dozens of Carpenter Gothic and Queen Anne–style structures still stand in its National Register Historic District—notably Christ Church Episcopal, the Thomas Hughes Library, Kingstone Lisle, and the restored Board of Aid office. It sits near the junction of Morgan, Scott, and Fentress counties beside trails like the “Meeting of the Waters” pool where the Clear Fork and White Oak Creek converge. As a community deeply tied to preservation, Rugby deserves care—not just in architecture, but in its land. Root Force provides delicate, precise stump grinding in historic yards and inn grounds (like Grey Gables Bed & Breakfast), ensuring new plantings don’t disturb archeological roots while preserving the original village charm.
