A Brief History of Ruskin, Florida

For more information about Ruskin’s historic
past or to offer your stories, photos and
memories to the Ruskin collection:
Contact: Fred Jacobsen
Phone: 813-298-6028
Email: fred@RuskinHistory.org
Be sure to visit the website of the
Ruskin Historical Society
www.RuskinHistory.org
A Brief History
of Ruskin,
Florida
The Ruskin Historical Society
would like to thank
Ruskin Community
Development Foundation, Inc.
www.ruskinfoundation.org
and
Hillsborough County Office of
Neighborhood Relations
www.hillsboroughcounty.org
for assistance in producing this booklet.
Our appreciation to the Ruskin Chamber of
Commerce and Florida Humanities Council
for producing the first edition of this history.
Additional text editing by A. Mc Miller, Ph.D.
Layout by Dolly Cummings
Second edition RCDF © 2005
The area now
known as Ruskin
has a fascinating
history...
PALEO PAST
COMMUNITY SERVICES
One and a half to two million years ago
the area around Ruskin was populated by a
wide variety of vertebrate animals. Frank
Garcia, noted paleontologist, discovered
the proof in 1983 when he found animal
bones preserved in limestone formations at
the Leisey Shell Pit. As the shell pit
operators exposed layers of shell and
limestone, Garcia watched. Finally, one
day he looked up a twenty-foot wall and
saw what he had hoped for -- fossilized
bones, teeth, and tusks.
The Twentieth Century Club was formed in
1912, by Adaline Dickman Miller. Far
more than a social club, its members'
activities involved improving education,
the home, and the wider community. In the
ear ly
1940s
t he
Twent iet h Cent ury
Club changed its name
to
the
Ruskin
Woman's Club. At
about the same time,
the Miller family
deeded the Ruskin
College President’s
home to the club.
Garcia, his colleagues, and many
dedicated volunteers began a multi‑year
project that unearthed many significant
fossil discoveries at the Leisey Shell Pit.
This site produced the largest North
American Sloth skeleton ever discovered;
and according to Garcia, "Over 140
different species of animals, with nearly
twenty of them being new to science."
Adaline Dickman Miller
The Chamber of Commerce formed in
1928. Membership was open to anyone of
good character over sixteen. The
membership fee was fifty cents; dues were
one dollar per year.
Wall of bones found in 1983
Between these two groups, the Woman’s
Club and the Chamber of Commerce, the
basic needs of the community were
somehow met. Members organized a
volunteer fire service and collected trash
for proper disposal. They fought for more
teachers and improved school facilities.
Over the years, each organization
provided space for a public library. The
elementary school expanded from a
one‑room wooden schoolhouse to a
complex of several brick buildings with
hundreds of students. Many services were
needed because Ruskin and other rural
locales of the South Shore area remained
isolated from Tampa.
Volunteers of the Paleo Preserve carefully
preserved the fossils for study at the
University of Florida. The fossils found in
Ruskin will help inform future generations
about the evolution of vertebrates. The
“Leisey Collection” can be viewed at the
Paleo Preserve Fossil Museum at the
Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center,
located at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin.
For at least twenty years, two people were
essential to providing the basic medical
needs of the area. "Doc" John Henry Harris
from Wimauma rode a circuit in the county
and was assisted by nurse Joyce Ely. The
present-day clinic in Ruskin is named in
her honor. Finally, in the 1940s, "Doc"
Harris opened an office several days a
week in Ruskin.
Exactly what happened to these extinct
mammals is still largely unexplained.
Garcia believes that the shell pits covered
what was
once an
ancient
river bed
w he r e
t h e
animals
came to
drink and
rest.
EARLY DEVELOPMENT
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
One of the first to take advantage of the
economic situation was the son of early
pioneer A.P. Dickman, Paul B. Dickman.
The first humans are believed to have
entered the Florida peninsula 13,000 years
ago, long after most of the large
prehistoric mammals had disappeared in
North America. At that time, the sea level
was much lower than it is today, and the
climate was drier. Later, as the world's
glaciers melted and the sea rose, Florida's
climate became more temperate. In distant
eras, Florida's indigenous people settled
in areas that are now under water.
He opened the historic (now demolished)
Coffee Cup Restaurant, the favorite social
institution of Ruskin for many decades.
During the Depression, Paul and his wife
Esther Cralle Dickman helped make ends
meet
by
s e l l i n g
coffee and
pie to locals,
tourists, and
truckers.
The Coffee Cup Restaurant
The Dickmans turned over management to
Willie and Mary Walker in 1936.
Meanwhile, Paul Dickman acquired many
acres of devalued or tax-repossessed real
estate, and focused his Ruskin College
training in engineering on innovations to
improve local farming.
In the 1950s. many of Mr. Dickman's
innovations helped make Ruskin known as
"The Salad Bowl of America". He invented
new types of harvesting machines and
st art ed “pre-packing” to mat o es in
cellophane. He tried new delivery methods.
For these efforts, he received many
agricultural prizes and awards. During this
time, Paul Dickman and others founded the
Ruskin Vegetable Corporation.
From 1934 until the early 1950s, the major
social event of Ruskin’s year was the
Tomato Festival. It combined features of a
county fair, beauty pageant, and a political
rally.
The festival has been resurrected on the
first weekend each May as the Ruskin
Tomato and Heritage Festival, presented
by the Ruskin Community Development
Foundation, Inc.
Shellpoint mound with hotel on top; circa 1906
Evidence of Indian presence near Ruskin
was discovered in three shell mounds:
Thomas Mound located near the mouth of
the Little Manatee River on its north bank;
Selner Mound on the south side of the
Little Manatee River; and Mound Key in
the aquatic preserve of Cockroach Bay.
These mounds were investigated several
times in the 1890s by Clarence B. Moore
and during the 1930s by J. Clarence
Simpson. Discoveries included pottery
sherds, cherts, weapons, and burial
remains. On Cockroach Key, Moore and
Simpson found buried remains of many
young skeletons -- evidence of an early
epidemic.
Archaeologists have estimated that the
area of Thomas Mound was continuously
occupied from 100 A.D. until about 1600
A.D. This means that these natives were
present in this area at the time of Spanish
exploration.
SPANISH EXPLORATION
TRADEGY STRIKES RUSKIN
The mouth of the Little Manatee River is
believed by many to be the first
encampment of Hernando DeSoto's
expedition in 1539. Dr. Gerald Milanich in
Hernando DeSoto and the Indians of
Florida carefully tracked DeSoto’s
expedition “backwards” from Tallahassee,
counting days traveled and rivers crossed to
determine that DeSoto’s Spanish ships offloaded near Terra Ceia (south of Ruskin);
his soldiers then marched overland to the
village of Uzita, situated on a large burial
and ceremonial shell mound near the west
end of Shell Point Rd in Ruskin.
Ruskin College survived until World War
One, when many young people went into
the armed services or took newly available
jobs in the cities. In the wake of the war,
they seldom returned to Ruskin College. In
1919, Dr. Miller died during a mid-western
train trip to recruit new students.
Although cigarettes
Ruskin, pipe-smoking
from a “knocked-out”
that destroyed most
t e mp o r a r y
bu ild ings,
leaving the
College
President’s
h o m e
standing
just north
of
the
campus.
were banned in
was not. Cinders
pipe, ignited a fire
of the college’s
One of the buildings destroyed by 1918 fire
Conquistador landing
Now, while driving west from Highway 41
on West Shell Point Road, you’re traveling
on the paved-over remains of preColumbian shell mounds, which – like most
inland mounds – were treated like “fill
dirt” by the early settlers.
Within a hundred years of their first
encounter with Spaniards, the native
population of Florida had been decimated
by warfare and by disease. When Florida
became sparsely occupied by its indigenous
peoples, other Native Americans moved
south to Florida. These are now the
Seminoles.
The 19 th-century history of Florida was
shaped by struggles between the Seminoles
and the white settlers over possession of
the land, The three Seminole wars of the
1800s were fought north and east of
Ruskin. .
Although these combined tragedies ended
the college and the heyday of the
cooperative enterprise, Ruskin survived.
By 1926, a short-lived, post-war, real
estate “Boom” was over. Real estate
development was dead, and land was
cheap.
The Ruskin Commongood Society,
however, continued to exist as a legal
entity until 1967, when (in the days before
environmental awareness) it ceded its
“common” lands and quasi-submerged
properties to Hillsborough County and to
local entrepreneurs.
The earlier economic development of
Ruskin was based primarily on agriculture,
and to a lesser extent ranching, fishing,
and small business. Through the 1920s and
30s, small family farms grew into larger
commercial enterprises. Although wide
varietirs of vegetables, fruits, and flowers
were grown, the Ruskin tomato was king.
EARLY RUSKIN
PIONEERS
In its early
days, Ruskin
w a s
a n
i s o l a t e d
co mmunit y.
Tampa and St.
Petersburg
could best be
reached by a
boat ride aboard the ‘Kilcare’ of several
hours. When the tide was too low, the
Ruskinites had to overnight in Tampa or St.
Petersburg.
Before 1900, a few settlers farmed, fished,
raised cattle, cut lumber, and turpentined
in this part of Hillsborough County. From
int erviews wit h t heir present ‑day
descendants and from studying census
records, we know that caucasian families
began to settle here in the 1840s. When
the idealistic founders of Ruskin arrived,
t h e s e
hardy folk
already
h
a
d
extensive
l a n d
ho ld ings
Dickman Ranch circa 1947
HOW ‘RUSKIN’ GOT ITS NAME
The Millers built a Swiss-chalet‑style
house in 1914. Their home served as a
part‑time classroom and social gathering
spot for students, faculty, and members of
the community at large. The building, now
owned by The Ruskin Woman's Club, was
chosen for the National Register of
Historic Places in 1974.
In 2000, the
A . P .
Dickman
h o u s e
b e c a m e
Ruskin’s
s e c o n d
nat io nall y
desig nat ed
historic
la nd mark.
The house
was also approved by the Hillsborough
County Historic Resources Review Board
and was the first in the County to receive
this landmark designation.
Ruskin, Florida, was among the many
utopian or “intentional” communities
established in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, on the general principles of
cooperation. One thinker in particular
inspired their efforts ‑‑ the English
philosopher John Ruskin. A major tenet of
Ruskin's philosophy was to provide free
education to the working and middle
classes. Ruskin, Florida, in contrast to
other such
communities, has some
historic buildings still standing while
others are just memories.
John Ruskin (1819—1900)
THE FOUNDING OF RUSKIN
RUSKIN LIFESTYLE
How and why were these ideas
implemented here in Ruskin? The answer
can be traced back to Dr. George
McAnelly Miller. After having served as
president of two different Ruskin-plan
colleges in Trenton, Missouri, and in Glen
Ellyn, Illinois, and after having seen
disaster overtake the ‘Ruskin’ influenced
communities in Tennessee and Georgia,
Dr. Miller concluded that the isolated
coast of southwest Florida would be an
ideal site for a new cooperative venture. In
Ruskin, Florida, he found a locale then
isolated from outside interference, a
climate favorable to agriculture, and
enough land to develop an economically
independent town. Dr. Miller and three of
his brothers‑in‑law agreed to trade
property in Missouri for 12,000 acres in
Florida. Thus, a new Ruskinite dream
became reality.
The community even printed its own
money (“scrip”) redeemable in land. The
early covenants in each deed contained
provisions against profanity, cigarettes,
and alcohol. Because all landowners were
enfranchised, women had the vote in
Ruskin long before they could vote in
national elections.
Dr. Miller moved with his wife Adaline
and their five children to the site of
Ruskin in 1906. A few years later, three of
his wife's brothers, A.P., N.E., and L.L.
Dickman
joined them
here. A few
of the other
early settlers
came from
the
failed
‘Ruskins’ in
Tennessee
and Georgia.
A gathering of the community
From previous experience, Dr. Miller
already knew how to get things started and
what to avoid in a cooperative community.
The founders purchased land, subdivided
it, and created a marketing and
development company. The ‘Ruskin
Homemakers’ sold the plots. Part of the
proceeds from sales went to the
Co mmo ngo o d So ciet y fo r genera l
community improvements and for the
expenses of Ruskin College.
The community attempted to adhere to
principles of shared public property and
responsibility. For instance, the park and
the college grounds were communally held
public spaces; some chores were shared
among the group, and Ruskin’s printed
“scrip” could be redeemed for groceries at
the Commongood Store.
Ruskin College was a central feature of
the community. The college buildings
w e r e
erected
f r o m
lo call y
available
timber.
Students'
d a y s
w e r e
d ivided
i n t o
thirds, with work, study, and relaxation
claiming equal portions of their days. The
students’ courses of study were highly
varied, combining aspects of classical,
pre-vocational, artistic, and liberal arts
education.
Plenty of timber was available for construction, although hauling it required
draft animals, a boat, or a beefed-up
Model T. Free-flowing artesian wells
supplied water without a pump, and
Ruskin’s good soil and temperate climate
were ideal for growing fruits and
vegetables. The surrounding waters
supplied fish, shellfish, and fowl. For the
rest of its needs, the town organized a
cooperative general store.
THE FOUNDING OF RUSKIN
RUSKIN LIFESTYLE
How and why were these ideas
implemented here in Ruskin? The answer
can be traced back to Dr. George
McAnelly Miller. After having served as
president of two different Ruskin-plan
colleges in Trenton, Missouri, and in Glen
Ellyn, Illinois, and after having seen
disaster overtake the ‘Ruskin’ influenced
communities in Tennessee and Georgia,
Dr. Miller concluded that the isolated
coast of southwest Florida would be an
ideal site for a new cooperative venture. In
Ruskin, Florida, he found a locale then
isolated from outside interference, a
climate favorable to agriculture, and
enough land to develop an economically
independent town. Dr. Miller and three of
his brothers‑in‑law agreed to trade
property in Missouri for 12,000 acres in
Florida. Thus, a new Ruskinite dream
became reality.
The community even printed its own
money (“scrip”) redeemable in land. The
early covenants in each deed contained
provisions against profanity, cigarettes,
and alcohol. Because all landowners were
enfranchised, women had the vote in
Ruskin long before they could vote in
national elections.
Dr. Miller moved with his wife Adaline
and their five children to the site of
Ruskin in 1906. A few years later, three of
his wife's brothers, A.P., N.E., and L.L.
Dickman
joined them
here. A few
of the other
early settlers
came from
the
failed
‘Ruskins’ in
Tennessee
and Georgia.
A gathering of the community
From previous experience, Dr. Miller
already knew how to get things started and
what to avoid in a cooperative community.
The founders purchased land, subdivided
it, and created a marketing and
development company. The ‘Ruskin
Homemakers’ sold the plots. Part of the
proceeds from sales went to the
Co mmo ngo o d So ciet y fo r genera l
community improvements and for the
expenses of Ruskin College.
The community attempted to adhere to
principles of shared public property and
responsibility. For instance, the park and
the college grounds were communally held
public spaces; some chores were shared
among the group, and Ruskin’s printed
“scrip” could be redeemed for groceries at
the Commongood Store.
Ruskin College was a central feature of
the community. The college buildings
w e r e
erected
f r o m
lo call y
available
timber.
Students'
d a y s
w e r e
d ivided
i n t o
thirds, with work, study, and relaxation
claiming equal portions of their days. The
students’ courses of study were highly
varied, combining aspects of classical,
pre-vocational, artistic, and liberal arts
education.
Plenty of timber was available for construction, although hauling it required
draft animals, a boat, or a beefed-up
Model T. Free-flowing artesian wells
supplied water without a pump, and
Ruskin’s good soil and temperate climate
were ideal for growing fruits and
vegetables. The surrounding waters
supplied fish, shellfish, and fowl. For the
rest of its needs, the town organized a
cooperative general store.
EARLY RUSKIN
PIONEERS
In its early
days, Ruskin
w a s
a n
i s o l a t e d
co mmunit y.
Tampa and St.
Petersburg
could best be
reached by a
boat ride aboard the ‘Kilcare’ of several
hours. When the tide was too low, the
Ruskinites had to overnight in Tampa or St.
Petersburg.
Before 1900, a few settlers farmed, fished,
raised cattle, cut lumber, and turpentined
in this part of Hillsborough County. From
int erviews wit h t heir present ‑day
descendants and from studying census
records, we know that caucasian families
began to settle here in the 1840s. When
the idealistic founders of Ruskin arrived,
t h e s e
hardy folk
already
h
a
d
extensive
l a n d
ho ld ings
Dickman Ranch circa 1947
HOW ‘RUSKIN’ GOT ITS NAME
The Millers built a Swiss-chalet‑style
house in 1914. Their home served as a
part‑time classroom and social gathering
spot for students, faculty, and members of
the community at large. The building, now
owned by The Ruskin Woman's Club, was
chosen for the National Register of
Historic Places in 1974.
In 2000, the
A . P .
Dickman
h o u s e
b e c a m e
Ruskin’s
s e c o n d
nat io nall y
desig nat ed
historic
la nd mark.
The house
was also approved by the Hillsborough
County Historic Resources Review Board
and was the first in the County to receive
this landmark designation.
Ruskin, Florida, was among the many
utopian or “intentional” communities
established in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, on the general principles of
cooperation. One thinker in particular
inspired their efforts ‑‑ the English
philosopher John Ruskin. A major tenet of
Ruskin's philosophy was to provide free
education to the working and middle
classes. Ruskin, Florida, in contrast to
other such
communities, has some
historic buildings still standing while
others are just memories.
John Ruskin (1819—1900)
SPANISH EXPLORATION
TRADEGY STRIKES RUSKIN
The mouth of the Little Manatee River is
believed by many to be the first
encampment of Hernando DeSoto's
expedition in 1539. Dr. Gerald Milanich in
Hernando DeSoto and the Indians of
Florida carefully tracked DeSoto’s
expedition “backwards” from Tallahassee,
counting days traveled and rivers crossed to
determine that DeSoto’s Spanish ships offloaded near Terra Ceia (south of Ruskin);
his soldiers then marched overland to the
village of Uzita, situated on a large burial
and ceremonial shell mound near the west
end of Shell Point Rd in Ruskin.
Ruskin College survived until World War
One, when many young people went into
the armed services or took newly available
jobs in the cities. In the wake of the war,
they seldom returned to Ruskin College. In
1919, Dr. Miller died during a mid-western
train trip to recruit new students.
Although cigarettes
Ruskin, pipe-smoking
from a “knocked-out”
that destroyed most
t e mp o r a r y
bu ild ings,
leaving the
College
President’s
h o m e
standing
just north
of
the
campus.
were banned in
was not. Cinders
pipe, ignited a fire
of the college’s
One of the buildings destroyed by 1918 fire
Conquistador landing
Now, while driving west from Highway 41
on West Shell Point Road, you’re traveling
on the paved-over remains of preColumbian shell mounds, which – like most
inland mounds – were treated like “fill
dirt” by the early settlers.
Within a hundred years of their first
encounter with Spaniards, the native
population of Florida had been decimated
by warfare and by disease. When Florida
became sparsely occupied by its indigenous
peoples, other Native Americans moved
south to Florida. These are now the
Seminoles.
The 19 th-century history of Florida was
shaped by struggles between the Seminoles
and the white settlers over possession of
the land, The three Seminole wars of the
1800s were fought north and east of
Ruskin. .
Although these combined tragedies ended
the college and the heyday of the
cooperative enterprise, Ruskin survived.
By 1926, a short-lived, post-war, real
estate “Boom” was over. Real estate
development was dead, and land was
cheap.
The Ruskin Commongood Society,
however, continued to exist as a legal
entity until 1967, when (in the days before
environmental awareness) it ceded its
“common” lands and quasi-submerged
properties to Hillsborough County and to
local entrepreneurs.
The earlier economic development of
Ruskin was based primarily on agriculture,
and to a lesser extent ranching, fishing,
and small business. Through the 1920s and
30s, small family farms grew into larger
commercial enterprises. Although wide
varietirs of vegetables, fruits, and flowers
were grown, the Ruskin tomato was king.
EARLY DEVELOPMENT
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
One of the first to take advantage of the
economic situation was the son of early
pioneer A.P. Dickman, Paul B. Dickman.
The first humans are believed to have
entered the Florida peninsula 13,000 years
ago, long after most of the large
prehistoric mammals had disappeared in
North America. At that time, the sea level
was much lower than it is today, and the
climate was drier. Later, as the world's
glaciers melted and the sea rose, Florida's
climate became more temperate. In distant
eras, Florida's indigenous people settled
in areas that are now under water.
He opened the historic (now demolished)
Coffee Cup Restaurant, the favorite social
institution of Ruskin for many decades.
During the Depression, Paul and his wife
Esther Cralle Dickman helped make ends
meet
by
s e l l i n g
coffee and
pie to locals,
tourists, and
truckers.
The Coffee Cup Restaurant
The Dickmans turned over management to
Willie and Mary Walker in 1936.
Meanwhile, Paul Dickman acquired many
acres of devalued or tax-repossessed real
estate, and focused his Ruskin College
training in engineering on innovations to
improve local farming.
In the 1950s. many of Mr. Dickman's
innovations helped make Ruskin known as
"The Salad Bowl of America". He invented
new types of harvesting machines and
st art ed “pre-packing” to mat o es in
cellophane. He tried new delivery methods.
For these efforts, he received many
agricultural prizes and awards. During this
time, Paul Dickman and others founded the
Ruskin Vegetable Corporation.
From 1934 until the early 1950s, the major
social event of Ruskin’s year was the
Tomato Festival. It combined features of a
county fair, beauty pageant, and a political
rally.
The festival has been resurrected on the
first weekend each May as the Ruskin
Tomato and Heritage Festival, presented
by the Ruskin Community Development
Foundation, Inc.
Shellpoint mound with hotel on top; circa 1906
Evidence of Indian presence near Ruskin
was discovered in three shell mounds:
Thomas Mound located near the mouth of
the Little Manatee River on its north bank;
Selner Mound on the south side of the
Little Manatee River; and Mound Key in
the aquatic preserve of Cockroach Bay.
These mounds were investigated several
times in the 1890s by Clarence B. Moore
and during the 1930s by J. Clarence
Simpson. Discoveries included pottery
sherds, cherts, weapons, and burial
remains. On Cockroach Key, Moore and
Simpson found buried remains of many
young skeletons -- evidence of an early
epidemic.
Archaeologists have estimated that the
area of Thomas Mound was continuously
occupied from 100 A.D. until about 1600
A.D. This means that these natives were
present in this area at the time of Spanish
exploration.
PALEO PAST
COMMUNITY SERVICES
One and a half to two million years ago
the area around Ruskin was populated by a
wide variety of vertebrate animals. Frank
Garcia, noted paleontologist, discovered
the proof in 1983 when he found animal
bones preserved in limestone formations at
the Leisey Shell Pit. As the shell pit
operators exposed layers of shell and
limestone, Garcia watched. Finally, one
day he looked up a twenty-foot wall and
saw what he had hoped for -- fossilized
bones, teeth, and tusks.
The Twentieth Century Club was formed in
1912, by Adaline Dickman Miller. Far
more than a social club, its members'
activities involved improving education,
the home, and the wider community. In the
ear ly
1940s
t he
Twent iet h Cent ury
Club changed its name
to
the
Ruskin
Woman's Club. At
about the same time,
the Miller family
deeded the Ruskin
College President’s
home to the club.
Garcia, his colleagues, and many
dedicated volunteers began a multi‑year
project that unearthed many significant
fossil discoveries at the Leisey Shell Pit.
This site produced the largest North
American Sloth skeleton ever discovered;
and according to Garcia, "Over 140
different species of animals, with nearly
twenty of them being new to science."
Adaline Dickman Miller
The Chamber of Commerce formed in
1928. Membership was open to anyone of
good character over sixteen. The
membership fee was fifty cents; dues were
one dollar per year.
Wall of bones found in 1983
Between these two groups, the Woman’s
Club and the Chamber of Commerce, the
basic needs of the community were
somehow met. Members organized a
volunteer fire service and collected trash
for proper disposal. They fought for more
teachers and improved school facilities.
Over the years, each organization
provided space for a public library. The
elementary school expanded from a
one‑room wooden schoolhouse to a
complex of several brick buildings with
hundreds of students. Many services were
needed because Ruskin and other rural
locales of the South Shore area remained
isolated from Tampa.
Volunteers of the Paleo Preserve carefully
preserved the fossils for study at the
University of Florida. The fossils found in
Ruskin will help inform future generations
about the evolution of vertebrates. The
“Leisey Collection” can be viewed at the
Paleo Preserve Fossil Museum at the
Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center,
located at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin.
For at least twenty years, two people were
essential to providing the basic medical
needs of the area. "Doc" John Henry Harris
from Wimauma rode a circuit in the county
and was assisted by nurse Joyce Ely. The
present-day clinic in Ruskin is named in
her honor. Finally, in the 1940s, "Doc"
Harris opened an office several days a
week in Ruskin.
Exactly what happened to these extinct
mammals is still largely unexplained.
Garcia believes that the shell pits covered
what was
once an
ancient
river bed
w he r e
t h e
animals
came to
drink and
rest.
For more information about Ruskin’s historic
past or to offer your stories, photos and
memories to the Ruskin collection:
Contact: Fred Jacobsen
Phone: 813-298-6028
Email: fred@RuskinHistory.org
Be sure to visit the website of the
Ruskin Historical Society
www.RuskinHistory.org
A Brief History
of Ruskin,
Florida
The Ruskin Historical Society
would like to thank
Ruskin Community
Development Foundation, Inc.
www.ruskinfoundation.org
and
Hillsborough County Office of
Neighborhood Relations
www.hillsboroughcounty.org
for assistance in producing this booklet.
Our appreciation to the Ruskin Chamber of
Commerce and Florida Humanities Council
for producing the first edition of this history.
Additional text editing by A. Mc Miller, Ph.D.
Layout by Dolly Cummings
Second edition RCDF © 2005
The area now
known as Ruskin
has a fascinating
history...