The Junior Historian, Volume 8, Number 4, January 1948 Page: 10
24 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
'IEII JUNIOR HISTO(RAN
in the county - the International &
Great Northern, but Henderson was left
off the route. Later a branch line, the
I enderson and Overton, was built by
local capital, and the first train pulled
into town in 1877.
Henderson built another railroad inl
1909 - the Timpson and Henderson.
The station was located on the site of
the present city auditorium, and the
train switched grandly across East
Street carrying freight to the I. G. N.
Railway. The Timpson and Henderson
went broke in 1922.
Prior to these railroads, one had been
built to connect Henderson with the
Gulf, called the Galveston, Houston,
and Henderson Railway. which was the
third railway chartered in Texas, but
it was never completed because of the
outbreak of the Civil War. The Santa
Fe built a line across the northeast
corner of the county in 1893.
Rusk County was not quite two years
old when the matter of schools came to
the front. Both the educated and the
uneducated residents wanted their chil-
dren to go to school. The schoolhouse
was finished by James W. Flanagan,
and it served its purpose for many years
until it was blown down by a cyclone
in 1866. There was a separate girls'
department in the Rusk County Acad-
emy occupying a church building for
five days in the week. The Academy
stood on the west side of North Street,
and the church-schoolhouse on the east
side of the street.
Private schools were established dur-
ing the period before the Civil War, in-
cluding Ilenderson College, Rockhill
Institute, and Alexander Institute.
About 188o the public school system of
Texas was set up, and gradually the
number of private schools decreased.
The early schools had many important
teachers, one of whom was George Gar-
rison, who later became one of the first
professors of history at the University
of Texas.
General Webster Flanagan, a famousgeneral during the Civil War, saw the
first session of the Rusk County com-
missioners' court in 1843 held tinder a
tree in southeast Henderson on what is
now known as Ragley Street. Most of
the county officials were seated on a
faller log. Soon after, however, a hewn
log courthouse was built on the south
end of Block 14, which is the offset in
the public square just west of Hadenl
and Boucher's Drug Store. This struc-
ture must have been still in use some
ten years later, for the commissioners'
court at the May term in 1854 allowed
$500 for the construction of the new
courthouse. The new building, which
burned in 1878, was a frame house,
square in design, two stories, and was
located in the center of the public
square.
The county developed into an agri-
cultural county and remained such until
1930, when the oil boom started. The
population of the county has nearly
doubled since that time, and the ap-
pearance of much of the county is
greatly changed.
Rusk County has many old homes
and historical landmarks. One of the
most beautiful colonial homes in Rusk
County was that of D. B. Leverett, a
member of a pioneer East Texas fam-
ily. Leverett's home is on the site of
the original log cabin bought by his
grandfather, J. D. Leverett, in 1852.
The log house was remodeled shortly
before the Civil War and served as a
home until recently.
Some of the famous landmarks still
standing in Rusk County today are:
a monument of General Thomas Jeffer-
son Rusk on the public square; Judge
Morris monument; the courthouse;
Pillsbury vault, burial place of Timothy
Pillsbury, early senator from Rusk
County; Tutt vault; and the Joiner
discovery well, which was the beginning
of the great East Texas oilfield.
There is a glorious history in the
background for Rusk County which
shoul be inspiring to all Texans.IO
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 8, Number 4, January 1948, periodical, January 1948; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391365/m1/12/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas State Historical Association.