The Ruskin Co-operative Association (RCA), named for English social critic John Ruskin, was active from 1893 to 1899 in Ruskin, Tenn., and from 1899 to 1901 in Ruskin, Ga. Apparently the first Marxist-influenced commune in the United States, the colony grew from the leadership of Isaac Broome and the efforts of Julius Wayland. Colonists grew their own food and alcohol was forbidden on the grounds. Members implemented the use of scrip money, several entrepreneurial ventures, and innovative educational practices. They produced and sold suspenders, natural chewing gum, and cereal coffee. An extensive library, frequent lectures, and performing arts events fostered education. The cooperative finally ended after two years of lawsuits between two factions over issues relating to ownership and control of the RCA.

Jan Bakker and Francelia Butler published "A Study of the Socialist Commune at Ruskin, Tennessee" in 2001. Bakker was a professor of English at Utah State University and holds a PhD from the University of Tennessee. He served as consulting editor to the journal Children's Literature and published the book Pastoral in Antebellum Southern Romance in 1989. Butler (1913-1998) wrote for the International Herald Tribune in Paris during the 1930s and taught English for 21 years at the University of Connecticut. She launched the International Peace Games Festival for elementary school teachers and children, founded the journal Children's Literature, and also published a book on skip-rope rhymes, entitled "Skipping Around the World" in 1989.