Ruskin is a village of about 105 residents named for English art critic John Ruskin, formally platted in 1887 as a Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad terminus. The area's earliest settlers were five Danish homesteaders who arrived from Racine, Wisconsin in 1869. Ruskin weathered grasshopper plagues, drought, and prairie fires in its pioneer years, and its 1948 community center still hosts an annual Decoration Day Dinner.

Ruskin, home to about 105 residents, was platted in 1887 and named for English art critic John Ruskin.