VisitRuskin.com
History of Ruskin
The community of Ruskin Florida is over 100 years old.
Situated on the shores of the Little Manatee River and Ruskin Inlet,
(approximately 16 miles southeast of Tampa) the first decade of the 20th century witnessed the birth of Ruskin. The town and college were named after John Ruskin, an English writer and critic who called for social reform and espoused the need for higher education for the masses. Born in 1819, John Ruskin died in 1900, eight years before the founding of the rural Florida town.