The Rugby Colony was founded by English author and social reformer Thomas Hughes. By the time Rugby was officially christened on October 5, 1880, the village had become home to a handful of young English colonists and an interesting mix of others, perhaps 100 people in all. The population expanded to nearly 300 residents by the following summer. Unfortunately, in that summer, a typhoid fever epidemic struck the colony, killing seven and causing several others to leave in panic. By the end of 1881, only about 60 people remained. Gradually, the colony rebounded, with the population growing to about 450 in the next few years. Eventually, however, the colony's popularity waned as land sales lagged, legal problems occurred, and the school that was to be the centerpiece of the colony never reached its potential. By the early 1890s, the colony was past saving.