ABSTRACT
In April 1893 a socialist weekly, The Coming Nation, began to appear in Greensburg, Indiana. Its editor was Julius A. Wayland, who aimed at attracting working-class people to socialist ideas through popular journalism. After a short period of searching, he and his assistants decided to purchase 1,000 acres about 50 miles from Nashville, Tennessee. Ruskin was established as a mixture of a cooperative association, as provided by the state's constitution, and a communal settlement in matters concerning work, consumption, and the ownership of several branches. A new editorial committee was established, and life in Ruskin went on undisturbed. New members kept arriving in Tennessee, and in 1895 the settlement numbered about 100 persons. The Ruskin people arrived in Georgia in October 1899, and in spite of their earlier disappointments they constructed their new settlement in the manner of the Tennessee commune. The Ruskin Commonwealth no longer existed in 1903 even though its name was still printed on the map.
