Ruskview
Unincorporated rural community in Ontario, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ruskview is an unincorporated rural community in Mulmur Township, Dufferin County, Ontario, Canada.[1][2]
Located within the Niagara Escarpment, on the highest bluff overlooking the Pine River valley, Ruskview has been described as "the most scenic of the Escarpment's ghost towns", with a view described as "spectacular".[3][4][5][6]
History
The first settler was Joseph Lennox, who purchased crown land here in 1848.[4]
The settlement was called "Blackbank" until 1875, when that name was given to a settlement a short distance west. In 1883, a post office opened at the original Blackbank and was named "Ruskview", after William Rusk, an early settler, as well as for the scenic view of the valley from the settlement.[4][7] Mail was brought to Ruskview twice weekly by horseback or by foot, delivered by 15 year-old Seymour Newell. The first postmaster was Joseph Reid, who had built a house, store, and blacksmith shop. A second blacksmith shop later opened at the settlement.[4]
A school was built in the early 1890s, and a Temperance Lodge had been founded by 1895.[4][8] In 1908, an Orange Lodge was founded.[4] That same year, Ruskview was noted as having a sawmill.[9] In 1914, a branch of the Federated Women's Institute was founded.[10]
The post office closed in 1916.[7]