Rusk County is named for Thomas Jefferson Rusk, who was a general during the Texas Revolution.
Created: January 16, 1843
County Seat:
Henderson 1843 – present
County Courthouse – Henderson
Location: 115 North Main Street / Fordall Road
Built: 1927 – 1928
Style: Texas Renaissance
Architect: Corneil G Curtis & Arthur E Thomas and A C Gentry
Contractor: Ross Maddox
Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of the city with the old jail on the northwest and the modern Justice Center on the north side. The building is “T” shaped with a west wing. The east front has large vertical windows with brown colored vertical panels between the first and second stories. The central entrance on the first story is framed with stone. The roof line is flat. An addition was constructed on the west side in 1936. The architect was Arthur E Thomas and the contractor was C S Lambie & Company..On the northwest side is the Courthouse Annex which faces south and is a rectangular three story buff colored brick and concrete structure.
Note: The first courthouse was log structure built in 1843. The second courthouse was built by Cadawaller W Chaney, Joseph D Johnson and John Henderson in 1860. The courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1878. The third courthouse was a brick structure designed by F E Ruffini of Austin and constructed by Darling & Redwine in 1878. The building was demolished when the fourth and present courthouse was constructed two blocks north in 1928.
County Justice Center – Henderson
Location: 210 Charlevoix Street / Van Buren Street
Built: 2009 – 2011
Style: Modern
Architect: Johnson-McKibben Architects of Dallas
Contractor: J E Kingham Construction Company of Nacogdoches
Description: The building faces south and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on the north side of the courthouse. The roof line is flat. The existing jail was designed and constructed by Creative Environmental Concepts Inc. in 1987.
Courthouses:
N – Gregg County and Harrison County
E – Panola County and Shelby County
W – Cherokee County and Smith County
County Courthouse
Old County Jail
County Justice Center
Photos taken 2010 and 2017