Ruskin College opened in 1912 as a coeducational industrial and liberal arts college. It was located on part of a large tract of land purchased by Dr. George McA. Miller beginning in 1907 for the purpose of establishing a cooperative college and a planned community modelled on the philosphy of British social thinker, John Ruskin. Ruskin believed in making education abailable for everyone. Dr. Miller had previously established two other Ruskinian colleges in the mid-West and was devoted to the educational principle of combining intellectual endeavors with manual labor. His wife, Adeline Dickman Miller, designed the Swiss chalet style structure located near this marker. It was constructed in 1914 and was the only one of Ruskin College's original buildings to survive a fire in 1919. By that time the cooperative college had declined due to loss of students during World War I. In 1940, the Miller House was deeded by that family to the Ruskin Woman's Club. This structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It remains a symbol of the utopian origins of the community of Ruskin.
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.