The “original” Ruckman homestead was believed to have been built around 1780. An exact date is not known, but the specific structural characteristics have been interpreted as possibly as early as 1760 to as late as 1790.  It is not clear who actually built the original house, but Cochran is a name that appears on some documents associated with the house.

David Little Ruckman purchased the homestead in 1832 and raised his family there.  Additions were constructed over the decades.  A new home was completed in 1944 beside the original house; and James Renick Ruckman’s daughter, Rachel Wallace Ruckman and her family moved in, vacating the original house at that time.  Portions of the original house, particularly some larger wooden beams, were used in construction of the new house;.  Over time other portions were transferred to other structures like the smokehouse, leaving only some original stones, now used for a fire pit.

Note:  The last person born in that house was Carlton Henry Robbins II.  At the time of his birth, four generations were alive who had been born in the original house.  James Renick Ruckman, Rachel Wallace Ruckman, Verna Kathleen Gum, and Carlton Henry Robbins II.