This country estate is a fine example of 19th-century Picturesque landscape design. Developed in the 1840s by David Thompson, promoter of the Grand River Navigation Company, its buildings and grounds are carefully integrated to create pleasing scenic effects. The centrepiece is an exquisite Greek Revival villa whose exterior form and interior design reflect contemporary American influences. The estate also retains early farm buildings and the family cemetery. Through the harmony it imposed on the untamed river landscape, Ruthven Park marked a new level of elegance in Upper Canadian society.