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Published: October 8th 2019
US Hwy 69
North of AltoAccording 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 reached Maydelle. Then in 1909 the railroad was completed to Palestine in Anderson County. Now the Texas State Railroad is operated as a scenic tourist train line through the countryside.
The real story about the Texas State Railroad is from the old Rusk Penitentiary (1883-1917). Now the old penitentiary is located in the Rusk State Hospital (a medium security prison). I thought there was no chance for my entry; and they were getting ready to demolish that last remaining building completed in 1883. Well Oct. 7, 2019 I got permission for a guided tour of that huge building days before the demolishing. I got to take along my Cherokee County guide and railroad historian. When we arrived at the hospital we found that my Cherokee guide just happened to know our hospital guide.
Our tour
Rusk Penitentiary (prison)
US Hwy 69 North side of Rusk
from internet started with the center space on the bottom floor of the old main Administration Building (where there was still electrical service). They had some interesting photos, drawings, and wall paintings there. There was also a section where the wall plaster fell off exposing several different renovations.
Then we walked up some dark stairs to the third floor that did house patients of the Rusk State Hospital. We got to walk the two very long wings of the hospital. Near the end of the West wing was a very nice open sitting area with a good view of their nice large trees. At the end of the East wing we could see the 1888 electric power plant with its two large smoke stacks. (Unfortunately the old power plant is also slated for demolition soon.)
Back on the first floor the hospital guide took us to an area of the old Administration Building where sandstone blocks were breaking off the building. She offered us some free sandstone block fragments and I chose one piece with moss growing on the block. At the end of our one hour tour, we thanked our nice hospital guide for her good guide service. The
Rusk Penitentiary
from inside photo
same pic as found on internet best part of the tour is that they did not keep us in custody (LOL).
At some time the entire Rusk State Hospital was painted a standard white colour (including the old Rusk Penitentiary).
The only penitentiary at that time was the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas; that was very overcrowded. Many other factors caused Texas to build a second Penitentiary in Rusk, Texas included: the abundance of iron ore, the abundance of lignite coal deposits, the abundance of wood to cook down to charcoal, the handy Cotton Belt Railroad in Rusk, and the need to build the Texas State Railroad connecting the Cotton Belt Railroad in Rusk to the International & Great Northern Railroad (IGN) Railroad in Palestine. The prisoners of the Rusk Penitentiary provided most of the labor & much of the materials for the new railroad. The Rusk prisoners also did contract work for the local businesses and farms. The State of Texas sold pig (cast) ironand bricks the prisoners made. The combined work and products sold helped pay a large part of the costs of the Rusk Penitentiary.
In 1888 the Rusk Penitentiary completed an electric power plant for the facility and
its nearby manufacturing shops, ice factory, a brick kiln, a sawmill, several iron foundries, and a blast furnace. The first iron blast furnace was the 25 ton (per day) charcoal burning "Old Alcalde". The second replacement iron blast furnace was the better 50 ton coke burning "Sam Lanham". The iron foundries made pipes, some other iron products, and mostly pig (cast) iron. These iron products were used for the State of Texas and sold to other companies, and some was exported outside the state. In about 1910 the iron production became very unprofitable and was shut down. The blast furnace and the iron foundries are all long gone.
In 1917 the Rusk Penitentiary was closed and became an insane asylum mostly for Afro-Americans. In 1919 the facility became the Rusk State Hospital for the insane people of all races. (At the end of our tour our hospital guide took us to an old 1925 structure with a corner-stone listing listing the building as the East Texas Hospital for the Insane; but I find that an unimportant difference from the 1919 facts.)
There was a number of large scale renovations of the Rusk Penitentiary, especially the replacement of the
original pitched roof (found on old internet sites) to a flat roof of today. Also there were a number of large scale construction projects, in phases, adding many more buildings for the Rusk State Hospital. They even planted many large nice magnolia, pecan, and oak trees in the facility that would have a soothing effect on the patients.
This area was first settled by European Americans in the 1840s. In 1883 the Rusk Penitentiary housed prisoners for making charcoal for the iron foundries and iron blast furnace on site. Around Henderson, Texas (Rusk County) there are very large coal deposits that could be cooked to coke to supplement the wood charcoal fuel for the blast furnace; that are strip mined today. The coal was expensive cuz it was a two day horse and wagon trip to get that coal to the prison blast furnace. The prisoners also made bricks on site (kiln dried) and gathered sandstone blocks for construction.
I started my days trip to the Rusk State Hospital on US Hwy 69 Northbound to Rusk, where I turned West on US Hwy 84. I passed downtown Rusk with the Thomas Jefferson Rusk Hotel. Not far on the
Rusk Penitentiary
Historic Marker
Cherokee County guide
Railroad Historian East Side of Rusk, I made a photo stop on US Hwy 84 by the Texas State Railroad Car & Locomotive Shop. (The railroad tracks crossing US Hwy 84 is a spur line to connect the Texas State Railroad with the Cotton Belt Railroad in Rusk, Texas. This is still a functional connection for the two railroads.)
Still on hwy 84 Westbound, I made a quick stop by the Texas State Railroad Park. The entry fee for the Park with the Rusk Station was reasonable, but I did not have time to visit the station. (I had a nice ride on the Texas State Railroad about ten years ago.) I had my old pics from the Rusk Depot for the Texas State Railroad; but sadly my pics from the railroad ride and the Palestine Depot Park are gone.
I made a brief stop near Dialville to pick up my local Cherokee County guide and railroad historian; where we used his truck with four wheel drive (4X4). We drove back on US Hwy 84 West to Rusk. Then we turned North on US Hwy 69 the short distance to the Rusk State Hospital (West Side of the hwy) for
a very nice tour. Then we drove West on US Hwy 84 to Us Hwy 69 North for the short distance to the Rusk State Hospital (West side of highway) for a very nice hospital tour.
We drove West on US Hwy 84 to see more of the Texas State Railroad. All of the Texas State Railroad is on the South side of hwy 84.
We drove a few miles East of Maydelle, and turned South on County Road 2108; crossing the Texas State Railroad to visit the Cherokee County Wines. We were greeted by a large friendly goat outside the winery. Inside they had a nice wine museum. This includes a photo of Maydelle Campbell, and a photo of the original Maydelle Train Depot, now long gone. We met a few Texas historians and the BS got very deep; fortunately we all had our boots on LOL. They gave us many good fruit wine samples. I am not a wine drinker, but the wines were of very high quality. They told us that when a train passed their two buildings, their whole buildings would shake from the weight of the nearby trains. We did not purchase any
wines, but they were happy to chat with us.
Maydelle, Texas was named for the daughter of Texas Governor Thomas M. Campbell. It is located about twelve miles West of Rusk, Texas on US Hwy 84. Maydelle Campbell did some singing at the opening of the town-site in 1906 or 1907. We made a photo stop by the second Maydelle Train Depot Museum not open to the public, (first depot is long gone). The live railroad track was right next to the depot. We made the short walk to the Maydelle train turn-a-round (not functional now); where they could spin the track to turn the engine with tender (with fuel) around to go in the opposite direction.
On the North side of US Hwy 84 (near the depot) can be seen the Old Cherokee Trading Post, still open for business. About ten meters West of the Trading Post is the remains of the Cushing Hotel that served as a grocery, market, and a bank; but never as a hotel. (The "Hotel" is somewhat visible from Hwy 84, but very hard to see while driving.) The Cushing Hotel was used in filming a James Garner movie in 1981 about
a town called Cushing, Oklahoma. My guide told me wisely not to enter the open side of that structure; so nobody would think we were stealing artifacts from there. I used a long stick to move a old small electric motor into the open long nuff to shoot (with Nikon) the motor. (Not far from Maydelle, over in Nacogdoches County, is Cushing, Texas.)
Also on the North side of Maydelle on a county road is the old Maydelle School, abandoned about fifty years ago. Continuing North on the County Road (to Gent) is the Maydelle Water Supply that is still used by the nearby people. About fifty meters North of the water supply tanks sits a very nice 1951 Packard motor car. The page on the windshield said the Packard was for sale for $3500 USD; not affordable on my Social Security. I would have paid money for the hood ornament that I would mount on the hood of my pickup truck "Old Blue".
Maydelle was founded in 1906 or 1907. Maydelle was thriving in 1914 and peaked with 150 residents thanks to the Texas State Railroad. Many of the citizens of the de-funked towns of Gent (another
Rusk State Hospital
missing plaster
several different renovations blog), Java, Mount Comfort, Pine Town, and smaller communities moved to Maydelle. It is said that there are now about 250 residents there now. There is no hwy 84 sign for Maydelle (City limits), but they have a relatively new post office there. Maydelle is still on most Texas road maps.
The only other de-funked town that we found was Java (South West of Maydelle). All we found of Java was a sign by the Texas State Railroad. There was an old Java train stop there, now long gone. It is said that the Java settlement was named from an old coffee sack with Java written on the sack...a Texas slang word for coffee.
It was raining hard when we arrived at the US Hwy 84 bridge over the Neches River. First we viewed the North side of the river by a small boat ramp. Then we drove to a large area on the South side of the highway. (Good thing we had four wheel drive in the mud, or we would have been walking back to town!) A few days later we returned to the bridge and I shot pics on a beautiful day.
I am
Rusk State Hospital
start third floor
dangerous prisoner (LOL) including some internet pics of coal burning trains crossing the trestle over the Neches River about one mile South (as the crow flies) of the highway bridge. Without a boat we could not get to the Texas State Railroad trestle over the Neches River, that separates Cherokee County from Anderson County. Later when we get a boat to see the trestle over the river that separates Cherokee County from Anderson County. Later when we get a boat to see that railroad trestle, I will add that to this blog.
After crossing the Neches River on hwy 84 into Anderson County, we went south on an unmarked county dirt road going South of the Texas State Railroad. We drove up a very steep hill to the top of a high ridge. We got to what the locals call "Tater Mountain". There used to be a overlook with a good view. Now with large trees blocking the view, its just a nice place to visit.
Just East of Palestine is the Texas State Railroad Park, that we did not enter. I included an internet pic of the railroad depot near Palestine.
It was still raining hard when we got
Rusk State Hospital
1888 electric power plant
closed security iron mesh to Palestine. Near downtown Palestine we saw the old IGN Railroad that tied into the Texas State Railroad.
Now according to Wikipedia, in 2007 the Texas State Railroad was leased and operated by the American Heritage Railway; who also operates the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gage Railroad in Southern Colorado...a very scenic ride that I rode many years ago. In 2012 the Texas State Railroad sold to the Iowa Pacific Holdings; making the railroad a private line no longer owned by the State of Texas.
Now the Texas State Railroad mostly runs diesel electric locomotives. They use old (coal or diesel, uncertain) burning steam locomotives on limited runs. Call 855-632-7729 for information. For the winter they have a special short run round trip from Palestine to Maydelle for $50 USD per person...up to $100 USD per person; by reservation only.
Note: I wish to thank the History Museum in Diboll, Texas USA for their work finding the topographic maps, and their permission to shoot them and use the topos in many blogs. I used the real topos, but used my crop function to enlarge my pics so the Texas State Railroad and towns are visible.
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Beau
non-member comment
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.