RUSK COUNTY. 255 



CHAPTER IX. 



RUSK COUNTY. 



BY JOSEPH B. WALKER. 



The area of this county is 9 1 7 square miles, lying between north latitude 

 31° 51'— 32° 25' and west longitude 94° 25'— 94° 58'. It was formed from 

 Nacogdoches County, and organized in 1843, being named in honor of 

 Thomas J. Rusk. 



Acreage. — The number of acres is 586,880. The number of acres in field 

 cultivation in 1889-90 was 101,585, or 17.3 per cent. The number of acres 

 in fruit and gardens was 2677. 



DRAINAGE. 



This county is watered and* drained in the northern and northeastern por- 

 tion by the Sabine River and its tributaries: Caney Creek; Rabbit Creek, 

 with its east and west prongs; Cherokee Bayou and its fork, Towiska Creek; 

 Corbet Creek and Williamson Creek, forks of Martin's Creek; Iron Bayou; 

 Attoyac Creek; Murvall's Bayou, and Golondrina Creek. 



The middle and southwestern portions by the tributaries of the Angelina 

 River: Bowles Creek; Johnson's Creek; Striker's Creek; Mud Greek; Scoo- 

 ber Creek; Big Shawnee Creek; Anadarco Creek; Barnhart's Creek, and the 

 East Fork of the Angelina River. 



SURFACE. 



The highest elevations are the iron-capped ridges, more particularly in 

 northern, northeastern, and southern portions of the county. The remainder 

 is hilly and rolling, except the valleys which form the margins of the streams. 



SOILS. 



The top soil of the ridges is sandy. The hillside soils are loamy, with a 

 considerable mixture of sand. The valley soils are a mixture of the finer 

 particles derived from the weathering and gradual erosion by rains of the 

 hillsides. They contain more or less organic matter, obtained in the same 

 way, and are therefore fertile sandy loams. 



The principal products are cotton, corn, oats, sweet potatoes, peas, and sugar 

 cane. 



