Rusk Penitentiary, and the Texas State Railroad (Cherokee County), Texas
September 11th 2019 According to Wikipedia, the Texas State Railroad started construction near Rusk, Texas; built by inmates of the new Rusk Penitentiary to transport raw materials for the iron blast furnace at the Penitentiary. The building of the Texas State Railroad and the Rusk Penitentiary are linked with both located in the Rusk area (Cherokee County), and both starting operations in 1883. In 1906 the railroad
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Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the origina... ... read more 
Beau
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Amazing post all around
but these pictures of the inside of Rusk are especially valuable to me. It's interesting that they made a corner stone with the East Texas State name: I found that name in an add for GE industrial stoves, where they highlight institutions that use their products--in 1960! But official TX documents pretty much drop the name by 1923. If you have any more interior shots, I'd love to see them. In any event, thanks for posting this.