A Short History of Rusk County

Rusk County lies on the Sabine Uplift of the Coastal Plains between the Sabine and Angelina Rivers in the Piney Woods of East Texas, with the City of Henderson as the county seat.

Rusk County comprises 932 square miles of hills, narrow valleys, and glens, with deep sands, loam soils, and underlying deposits of clay and lig­nite. A wide variety of trees and wildflowers grow in the county, including white pine, red oak, hickory, walnut, ironwood, elm, beach, dogwood, violets, blue daisies, cowslips, tigrida, and wild onion. Cherokee Bayou and Tiawichi Creek flow through the county.

People have lived in this area for several thousand years. Archaeologi­cal artifacts suggest human inhabitants lived two to three thousand years ago. Evidence of 1000-1600 AD Caddo culture has also been found in the area, including the two Tejas villages of Aynais, in the southwestern corner of the county, and Nacogdoches Village near the present site of the Minden community. Between 1691 and 1788, four Spanish expeditions crossed the area; however, the Spanish did not settle there. Only the names of a few streams show their influence in the region.

Anglo-American settlers came to the Rusk County area as early as 1829. The Mexican government gave out forty-three land grants in 1834. More settlers arrived after the Texas Revolution.

Rusk County was formed on January 16, 1843, and was named for Thomas Jefferson Rusk, who had served as Secretary of War under Presi­dent Sam Houston. General James Smith donated and later sold the land for the county seat town site; William B. Ochiltree donated five acres north of the town square and, in the deed, named the town after his friend James Pinck­ney Henderson.

By 1850, the population of Rusk County had grown to more than 8,100. By 1858, the population had almost doubled to just less than 16,000. Most were farmers, while others worked in trades and law. New communities evolved; by 1857, there were twenty-two localities and post offices. Stagecoaches regularly carried passengers and freight from Marshall and Jefferson to Crockett and points south and west. Corn, the primary crop then, was planted on over 37,000 acres, with cotton, later to become the cash crop of the county, grown on over 25,000 acres. Wheat, sugar cane, and other crops contributed to the county’s economy. With the growing population and abundance of crops, two railroads were pro­posed to connect Henderson to the main lines, but the Civil War prevented the extension to the county seat. It was not until 1877 that the Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad began service to the city. For more background on the migration into East Texas, refer to the work Migration Into East Texas 1835-1860: A Study from the United States Census.

The year 1860 was a difficult one for Rusk County. High temperatures and drought ruined crops, adding tension with secession talk. In August, a huge fire destroyed nearly the entire business district of Henderson.

In 1861, the county voted for secession. More than twelve companies of soldiers went away to war. Those who stayed in the county had to deal with their concern for absent family and friends, the lack of markets, and an unstable Confederate currency. The end of the Civil War brought disaster to the county's economy as property values plummeted.

By the early 1870s, the county began to recover from war and Recon­struction. The railway lines at Overton and Henderson brought access to new markets, and Henderson became one of the region's leading com­mercial centers. Henderson, in particular, benefited from the railroad link, and during the 1870s and the early 1880s, the town became one of the leading commerce centers of the region.   

During the early 1870s, residents in the northern part of Rusk County moved to separate and form a new county. On April 30, 1874, the legisla­ture approved the proposal, and Gregg County was formed. Rusk County lost 284 square miles of territory and, with it, several thousand residents.

Agricultural production continued to be the leading commerce in the county, with cotton being king and corn close behind. In 1890, Rusk County fanners harvested 4,145 bales of cotton and 367,766 bushels of com. There was virtually no manufacturing, and the county as a whole remained predominantly rural and agricultural.

During the first three decades of the twentieth century, the county population gradually grew to more than 31,000. Numerous new roads were built, and many existing roads were upgraded. It was reported that Rusk County had one of Texas’s best systems of good roads, with 180 miles of improved highways.

At the beginning of the 1930s, the country was still primarily agricultural, and cotton was the leading crop. On October 3, 1930, everything changed. Columbus “Dad” Joiner discovered oil on the Daisy Bradford lease. O.P. Boynton had attempted to locate oil near Millville as early as 1911, but he failed to find oil. Dad Joiner, who defied the expert opinion that there was little or no oil in the area, then took up the search. After two failed attempts, the Daisy Bradford 3 gushed in, and the East Texas oil field was started. It proved to be one of the richest oil fields in the United States. By 1933, more than 200 million barrels of oil had been produced.

The discovery of oil increased the population and changed the area’s appearance. New towns such as Joinerville, Carlisle, New London, and Turnertown sprang up. Established settlements changed from rural communities to bustling boomtowns. Several new hotels, offices, and oil businesses were built in and around Henderson. Between 1930 and 1940, Henderson’s population grew from 2,932 to 6,437. Oil money helped to offset the worst effects of the Great Depression for the country in general, and the residents got through the hard times better than most other Texas counties.

Oil brought new riches; however, it also brought disaster. In March 1937, a powerful explosion caused by a natural gas leak blew up the New London School, killing nearly 300 children and teachers. Iol was also the beginning of the end of Rusk County’s status as a leading cotton producer.

After World War II, the population declined, and many left to seek jobs in the growing cities. Industry in Rusk County, however, was starting to pick up. Brick plants, office furniture, fiberglass, several smaller factories, as well as power plants and lignite mines, helped to produce jobs outside the declining oil field opportunities.

In 1948, Lake Forest Park opened, known as the largest family entertainment complex in the area. Several attractions, such as a half-mile train ride around the park, a petting zoo, a carousel, and speedboat rides, were just a few of the activities that attracted folks near and far to enjoy the park. In later years a pool and miniature golf course were added. Time took its toll on the original park, which has been renovated, and a new Civic Center has been built, but the lake and picnic areas are still available.

Rusk County continued to grow at a slow pace up until the twen­ty-first century. A new boom came to the area in the form of natural gas. Natural gas is abundant, and hundreds of wells fill the county landscape. New drilling techniques have allowed for deeper drilling, and fracking releases the trapped gas pockets.

With new industries and the re-establishment of the Henderson-Overton Branch Railroad, Rusk County continues to grow.