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B+History
History · Rusk

Rusk dates to 1846, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #70 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Rusk was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listing is the James I. and Myrta Blake Perkins House. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1850.

1846founded
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rusk began

When was Rusk founded?

1846

Rusk dates its founding to 1846 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 355 in 18502020 census: 5,285180 years

How historic is Rusk?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1847.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Rusk’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rusk is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #70 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rusk’s overall grade.
Founding era1846, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.8% of homes (±3.2) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 3.7 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 89%

Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rusk’s 3.7 sits above most of its state (79% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). Two sources give 1846.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Rusk’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rusk are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew 6-fold.Deep rootsEstablished in 1846: 180 years of Rusk.Famous sons and daughtersThomas Mitchell Campbell, Nancy Stephens and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rusk’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rusk’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Rusk, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,00018501900195020001,383 in 1890Low: 846

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew 6-fold.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rusk’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Rusk, 1846 to 1986

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846
    FoundingRusk is established
  3. 1847Post officeThe Rusk post office opens
  4. 1856Born hereThomas Mitchell Campbell is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1919Born hereJames Iley McCord is born here
  7. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1949Born hereNancy Stephens is born here
  9. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 6,598
  10. 1986Born hereCody Glenn is born here
The story

How Rusk came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rusk.

Read it all →

The city was established by an act of the Texas Legislature on April 11, 1846, named after Thomas Jefferson Rusk, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. By 1850, Rusk reportedly had 355 residents. A post office was authorized on March 8, 1847.

The city of Rusk is no longer dry; a beer and wine local-option election passed on May 9, 2009. Three years later, another local-option election was held to consider liquor sales; it also passed.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Rusk, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Confederate Monument, Cherokee County Courthouse2017Confederate Monument, Cherokee County CourthouseJAMES I. AND MYRTA BLAKE PERKINS HOUSE2015JAMES I. AND MYRTA BLAKE PERKINS HOUSERailroad tracks and rails turned into art sit alongside the entrance to the roadway leading to the Rusk, Texas, termina…2014Railroad tracks and rails turned into art sit alongsi…Rusk Footbridge TxHM2009Rusk Footbridge TxHMNorman Law Firm2009Norman Law FirmC.S.A. Men and Units2009C.S.A. Men and Units
On the map

Rusk on the map, 1943 to 1973

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rusk. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Rusk on the 1943 USGS mapRusk on the 1973 USGS map1943Rusk sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rusk.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Rusk

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
James I. and Myrta Blake Perkins House
James I. and Myrta Blake Perkins House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
James I. and Myrta Blake Perkins HouseQueen Anne

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Rusk

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Thomas Mitchell CampbellAmerican politician · b. 1856
N
Nancy StephensAmerican actress and songwriter · b. 1949
James Iley McCordAmerican theologian · b. 1919
C
Cody GlennAmerican football linebacker · b. 1986
G
George CochranAmerican baseball player · b. 1889
Heinie OdomAmerican baseball player · b. 1900
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Rusk’s post office has been open since 1847.

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rusk
Cedar HillHoggKilgoreOld PrisonWeems

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Rusk’s history

What year was Rusk founded?

In 1846, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Rusk’s post office opened in 1847, and the census of 1850 counted 355 people here.

How does Rusk rank for history?

Rusk is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #70 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Rusk?

One place: the James I. and Myrta Blake Perkins House (listed 2002).

How old are the homes in Rusk?

6% of Rusk’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1982.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.