Rusk County Agriculture

The Handbook of Texas puts figures on the shift. In 1858 Rusk County had more than 80,000 acres in crops, among them 25,782 in cotton, over 37,500 in corn and 4,741 in wheat. The 1890 harvest was 4,145 bales of cotton. Production peaked in 1926 at more than 44,000 bales, and by 1945 only 1,541 bales were ginned. In 1910 sharecroppers worked 2,351 of the county's 4,894 farms. By 2002 beef cattle were the chief product on 1,391 farms and ranches covering 272,436 acres.

What the plaque says

Rusk County Agriculture In the early years of Texas statehood Rusk County was home to a number of large plantations. By the end of the Civil War many of the plantations were gone, and small farms replaced larger operations. Crops included cotton, sugar cane, grains, and many vegetables and fruits. In the early 1900s lumber became a major product of the county. Cattle production increased considerably through the 20th century, though the number of farms decreased. Recent years in Rusk County have seen a shift in focus away from agriculture toward oil and mining interests. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• New London Museum and Cenotaph — 10 mi
  A volunteer-run museum beside the pink granite cenotaph for the March 1937 school gas explosion, holding a model of the school, a blackboard from that day and an odorizer device.
• East Texas Oil Museum — 16 mi
  A Kilgore College museum that rebuilds the 1930s oil boom in a full-scale Boomtown with a general store, drugstore and newspaper office, plus dioramas, films and antiques given by East Texans.
• Tex Ritter Museum and Texas Country Music Hall of Fame — 26 mi
  Carthage's country music museum, with Tex Ritter's boots, guitars and saddles in a room styled like a movie theater, and exhibits on other Texas stars, Jim Reeves among them.

More markers nearby

• Arnold Outhouse — steps away
• The Railroad in Rusk County — steps away
• Henderson Depot — steps away
• East Texas Musical Convention — steps away