On East Sixth Street, on the left when traveling east.
Formed by 15 young single women in 1902 with fewer than 50 books, this library club would later donate to the City of Rusk a volume of books that greatly contributed to an inventory in excess of 23,000 books. The Book Club, originally housed-in . . . — — Map (db m41138) HM
On Farm to Market Road 241, 0.6 miles north of County Highway 1104.
At this site. Housed some of the more than 3,000 Federals captured at Mansfield, La., on April 8, 1864, in Red River campaign to prevent Federal invasion of Texas. Camp Ford, at Tyler, was largest P.O.W. camp west of the Mississippi. Texas had 2 . . . — — Map (db m232128) HM
On Old Salem Road at Main Street, on the left when traveling east on Old Salem Road.
Established in 1847 as the city cemetery, Cedar Hill Cemetery is located at the south edge of Rusk in Cherokee County, atop a hill surrounded by a dense forest. Some of Rusk's oldest and most prominent residents have stone monuments in Cedar Hill . . . — — Map (db m232131) HM
On East Sixth Street (U.S. 84) west of Henderson Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
Cherokee County has a rich and varied history. Spanish and French explorers of the seventeenth century found Tejas and Hasinai Indians living in this area, and Spanish missions were established in the region.
Driven out of the United States, . . . — — Map (db m212151) HM
On East 6th Street (U.S. 84) at South Main Street (State Highway 62), on the right when traveling west on East 6th Street.
(front)
Civil War manufacturing, supply and military center. Field Transportation Bureau shop made and repaired wagons, saddles, harnesses. Gun factory produced "Mississippi rifles" and pistols. Two iron works cast plows, skillets, pots, . . . — — Map (db m95136) HM WM
On East 6th Street, on the left when traveling west.
This courthouse, the fourth to serve the citizens of Cherokee County, was built in 1940-41 with the assistance of the Federal Works Progress Administration. Designed by the architectural firm of Gill & Bennett, the modern structure is built of . . . — — Map (db m40618) HM
On East 6th Street (U.S. 84) at South Main Street (State Highway 62), on the right when traveling east on East 6th Street.
Left Panel
In Honor of All Veterans
Men and women who answer the call to duty during war and peace, who serve our country with honor. Often making the ultimate sacrifice to insure our nation's freedom
Veterans of the past, . . . — — Map (db m232612) WM
On West Crockett Street (Farm to Market Road 23) 0.2 miles west of Barron Street, on the right when traveling west.
During the Civil War this area along the road from Rusk to Crockett served as a training camp for Confederate soldiers. Located in a bare field with an available water supply from the nearby Pryor Branch, Camp Rusk was used for training new recruits . . . — — Map (db m232136) HM
On South Main Street (Farm to Market Road 752) at East 4th Street, on the right when traveling north on South Main Street.
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Rusk was organized on May 2, 1847, by the Rev. J.B. Harris, with a charter membership of four. A Sunday school was begun in 1850, and existed as a Union school until the 1880s. Ecumenical relationships were . . . — — Map (db m232163) HM
On South Henderson Street at East 4th Street, on the left when traveling south on South Henderson Street.
Organized in 1849, this congregation was first served by the Rev. Henderson D. Palmer (1812-1869), a circuit riding minister. Palmer received his license to preach in 1838 in Nacogdoches County.
The first deed for Methodist church property in . . . — — Map (db m232153) HM
On U.S. 84, 0.2 miles west of Farm to Market Road 347, on the right when traveling west.
In the winter of 1819-1820 Chief John Bowles led about sixty Cherokee families from Arkansas to East Texas. Near this site a small settlement of about six families was established by a Cherokee leader named Little Bean. They remained until 1839, . . . — — Map (db m128988) HM
On 50 Park Road, on the right when traveling north.
Birthplace of James Stephen Hogg, son of Lucanda McMath Hogg and Joseph Lewis Hogg. Born March 24, 1851. Died March 3, 1906. First native Texan to serve as governor. Inspirer of the passage of the Railroad Commission Law, Stock and Bond Law, Alien . . . — — Map (db m40474) HM
On East 5th Street, on the right when traveling east.
Wyatt Thomas Norman and William Harrison Shook, both Cherokee County natives, opened a law office on the Courthouse Square in 1898. George Gibson became a partner in 1918. He later moved to Jacksonville and opened a branch there. Wyatt T. Norman's . . . — — Map (db m41085) HM
On South Henderson Street at East 4th Street, on the right when traveling south on South Henderson Street.
Built 1865 by C. Chaffee, a New Orleans promoter cotton-buyer. Served 1868-1883 as law office of S.A. Willson, member of 5-man commission to codify Texas law under Constitution of 1876; later judge in State Court of Appeals. In this building, . . . — — Map (db m232159) HM
On Barron Street at West 4th Street, on the right when traveling north on Barron Street.
This venerated bell commemorates a spiritual and educational influence far greater in impact than the size of its origin would indicate. It now serves as a memorial to the East Texas Baptist Institute, chartered 1895 succeeded by the Academy of . . . — — Map (db m232211) HM
On N. Dickinson Drive (U.S. 69) south of Avenue A, on the left when traveling north.
Founded 1846. Named for Republic of Texas Statesman Thomas J. Rusk.
Industrial site and supply depot in the Civil War. Notable for iron manufacturing.
Birthplace of Texas Governors James S. Hogg, Thomas M. Campbell. City and county rich in . . . — — Map (db m201999) HM
On E. 5th Street near Lone Oak Street, on the left when traveling east.
First built 1861 as the means for residents east of valley to get to town during rainy seasons.
Rebuilt in 1889 by T.H. Barnes, engineer building New Birmingham (now ghost town, to the east).
Maintained by city of Rusk until 1950. Restored . . . — — Map (db m40464) HM
On State Highway 69, on the right when traveling south.
Bill Brunt (1910-1939) was born near Alto on his family’s farm off Sand Flat Road in Cherokee County. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Upon honorable discharge, Brunt was hired by Southern Pacific as a railroad detective . . . — — Map (db m210287) HM
On Farm to Market Road 241, 0.6 miles south of County Highway 2406, on the left when traveling north.
Named in honor of Joseph T. Cook • Native of North Carolina • Early settler in Nacogdoches • Owner of land on which a military company under Captain Black built a fort never attacked by Indians • On adjacent land, James Cook built a store and . . . — — Map (db m237454) HM
On South Main Street, 0.1 miles north of Old Salem Road, on the left when traveling north.
After efforts to relocate a Methodist School to Rusk fell through, the community convinced the Cherokee Baptist Association to establish a school on 12.2 acres donated by local resident Georgiana Bonner. Chartered in 1894, the East Texas Baptist . . . — — Map (db m232135) HM
On West 6th Street, 0.1 miles east of Butler Avenue.
By 1884 the Rusk Public School District maintained two schools: No. 1 for its Anglo students and No. 2 for its African American students. A yearly average of 50 students met in a small house built here about 1895 to house Rusk Public School No. 2. . . . — — Map (db m232213) HM
On Barron Street at West 4th Street (Farm to Market Road 23), on the right when traveling south on Barron Street.
Two speeches were delivered by Sam Houston in Rusk. The first, in 1855, was a debate with politician Frank Bowden. Houston, a U.S. Senator, was on a tour through central and east Texas trying to regain public favor after voting against the . . . — — Map (db m128992) HM
On U.S. 69 south of Farm to Market 343 (State Highway 343), on the right when traveling south.
New Birmingham was a boom town nearby in the late 1880s built around local iron ore operations. The furnaces, capable of producing 50 tons of iron daily, were named "Tassie Belle," after the wife of the town founder A. B. Bevins, and the "Star and . . . — — Map (db m30033) HM
On North Main Street (Loop State Highway 62) at East 6th Street (U.S. 84), on the right when traveling south on North Main Street.
The first hotel to occupy this site was the Union Hotel, a wood frame building erected in 1849. Renamed Bracken House for a subsequent owner, it continued to serve the city until 1889. Civil War General Joseph L. Hogg, father of future Governor . . . — — Map (db m128991) HM
In the late 1880s the Texas Prison System built a short rail line from the state penitentiary facility in north Rusk, southwestward to hardwood timber stands, where charcoal was made for use in firing the prison's iron ore smelting furnaces. The . . . — — Map (db m128990) HM
On East 5th Street at Lone Oak Street, on the left when traveling east on East 5th Street.
Attorney James N. Thomas (b. 1816) erected the one-story portion of this residence before 1851. James I. Perkins (1847-1923) built the two-story wing and added Victorian detailing after he purchased the property in 1883. Head of a leading Rusk . . . — — Map (db m41034) HM
