Ritter Island

Ritter Island is the heart and soul of Thousand Springs State Park.  The central location of Ritter Island has allowed it to function as a dairy farm, private retreat, nature preserve, and most recently a state park.   

In the 1918, businesswoman, Minnie Miller, bought the Ritter Island Property who wanted to turn it into a demonstration farm.  Mrs. Miller created a state-of-the-art dairy with the intention of breeding the world’s finest herd of Guernsey cattle.  Both the barn and the rock house were built in 1920.  The barn now functions as a museum.    

Walking through the barn, visitors can both see and feel the influence of Mrs. Miller.  Her ingenuity can be witnessed through her then, state-of-the-art dairy equipment.  Pictures hung in the stalls capture her life and the life of the dairy at its peak in the 1920s.  The recipe for the cattle feed is written in pencil on the wall of the feeding room.  While the hayloft is no longer used to store hay, a barn owl has taken up residence in its eaves.      

Mrs. Miller’s memory lives in Minnie Miller Falls, her favorite place to sit on the back of the property.  Today, Minnie Miller Falls is a popular scene for painters.

Ritter Island is home to the annual Thousand Springs Art Festival held the last weekend in September.  The festival includes: artists from surrounding areas, live music, local food specialties, children’s activities, and natural history displays.   

Hiking and bird watching are popular throughout the year on Ritter Island.