What's in a name?

Ruskin

The farming community got its start as a Utopian experiment named for a 19th century idealist.

By MICHELLE JONES, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 31, 2003

RUSKIN -- The ideals of John Ruskin, 19th century Renaissance man, art critic and social philosopher, were instrumental in the naming of this south Hillsborough community known for tomatoes, fishing and farming.

A social reformer, Ruskin theorized that the core of a community could be an educational institution, where students would study part time and work part time. In 1908, George Miller put the theory to the test, establishing Ruskin as a Utopian community.

The Dickman family wanted to be part of that Utopia. The Dickmans and Miller formed the Ruskin Homemakers on 12,000 acres.

Folks who bought lots and acreage automatically became members of the cooperative government known as the Ruskin Commongood Society. Ruskin College was built to provide free education to every working man, and courses included weaving, tanning and printing.

The Commongood Society thrived for several years but started to fall apart in 1917, when every able-bodied boy was inducted into the armed services and the girls got jobs in Washington, D.C. With a war on and no students, the college closed.

The idealistic community eventually fell apart when Miller died in 1918, and all that is left of the college is the Woman's Club on U.S. 41, just north of College Avenue.

The community never gained fame for its version of a perfect world, but it has gained recognition for the Ruskin tomato, which is shipped throughout the nation.

After the war, Paul Dickman, son of founder Albert Dickman, developed the area through farming, real estate and crop packaging innovations. Today, the Dickmans are among the largest tomato growers in the area.

Buyers snapped up much of the land, but the remainder was sold to Hillsborough County in 1970.