Ruskin Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Ruskin Area Cameras

Village · Nuckolls County · Population 105 (2020 census) · ZIP 68974 · Founded 1887 · Peak population 360 (1920)

About Ruskin

Ruskin is a village of 105 on US 136 in the eastern part of Nuckolls County, about 8 miles west of Deshler and 11 miles east-southeast of Nelson.

History

The Henrietta post office served settlers here from 1871. When the Rock Island's Nebraska line (the Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska) built west from Fairbury in 1886–87, a town grew up around its depot, and in June 1887 the post office was renamed Ruskin, for the English writer and critic John Ruskin. Presbyterians organized in 1889 and the Church of Christ in 1905, and Danish settlers south of town organized Bethany Lutheran in December 1893, building their first church three miles south in 1900.

The Ruskin News began in 1910, and the village reached its largest population, 360, in 1920. The Farmers State Bank, chartered in 1905, suspended in 1928 and was taken over by the Ruskin State Bank, which the state examiner closed on June 17, 1932.

Highways and trails through Ruskin

Route	One way	Other way
US 136Past the village	East to Deshler (about 8 mi) and Hebron	West past Nora toward Superior and Red Cloud

Nearby towns

Nora	about 6 mi west-northwest	US 136
Oak	about 7 mi north-northwest	County roads
Deshler	about 8 mi east	US 136
Hardy	about 10 mi south-southwest	County roads
Nelson	about 11 mi west-northwest	US 136 and NE 14
Davenport	about 12 mi north-northeast	County roads
Superior	about 13 mi southwest	US 136 and NE 14
Hebron	about 15 mi east	US 136

Things to see

St. Mark Lutheran Church, 290 Main St. · Bethany Lutheran Church · Oak and its Oregon Trail markers, about 7 mi north-northwest

Schools and health care

Schools: Ruskin's school district was not confirmed for this page; the nearest schools are Deshler Public Schools, 1402 3rd St., Deshler (about 8 mi east), and Lawrence-Nelson Public Schools in Nelson (about 11 mi)

Health care: No clinic in Ruskin; nearest: Deshler Medical Clinic, 615 4th St., Deshler, or Brodstone Family Medical Center–Nelson, 76 W. 8th St., Nelson; hospitals: Brodstone Healthcare (Brodstone Memorial Hospital), 520 E. 10th St., Superior, a 25-bed critical access hospital, or Thayer County Health Services, Hebron

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Who's Who in Nebraska, Nuckolls County (1940); NEGenWeb Nuckolls County; History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Park Service; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Little Blue NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; city, school, diocese and hospital websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.