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Historical Photographs of Riverview, Florida

Benjamin Moody is the first recorded settler in what is today's Riverview, establishing a homestead in 1842. In 1856, the small town of Peru (pronounced Pee-Roo) was founded on the Alafia River's south shore where today's US 301 crosses the river. The river's name, Alafia, is often believed to derive from an Indian word meaning "River of Fire," likely due to the phosphorus on the early river bottom that glowed during the night. Later settlers, because of the inconvenience in crossing the Alafia River, began settling on the north side of the Alafia River and during the 1890´s a new town arose: Riverview. A bridge between the two communities, built with lumber from a dismantled Tampa bridge, linked the communities in the late nineteenth century. By the 1940s, the Riverview name had been adopted for the combined communities and Peru faded from history. Today, Riverview is South County's largest and most populous community.

In this collection, both written and oral histories (and memoirs of life in Ruskin) will be found. Oral History and Memoirs from founding family members (Millers and Dickmans) will be found in the Founding Families collections within specific family member folders.) Pictured is the Coffee Cup Restaurant, a famed gathering place for Ruskin visitors and residents.

Pictured is a 1966 photo, from the Florida Memory Project, of boaters using the boat ramp at Ruskin Commongood Park. This collection houses Items, articles and artifacts, not otherwise classified

Original documents and artifacts relating to Ruskin History

Historical Photos of Ruskin, Florida

Founder of Ruskin College and earliest pioneer to what was to become Ruskin, FL. Wife was Adaline Miller.

This collection holds items relating to Ruskin College. The college, founded in 1913, grew to have an enrollment of 160 students. It closed its doors following World War I and a disastrous fire that destroyed most of the college in 1918. The building pictured in the thumbnail is the original 1910 structure that once housed the fine and performing arts center. It was also the home of the president, George M. Miller. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

This collection will house the extensive records provided to HCC on the Miller and Dickman families, the founders of Ruskin, Florida. Pictured is George McA. Miller, founder of Ruskin in an 1876 photo.

The small farming community of Sun City lies south of the Little Manatee River, along US 41. In the 1920's, fueled by the Great Florida Land Boom, Sun City was once planned to be a large movie colony, that some declared was to be the "Hollywood of the East".