Rusk Area Merchants

10/19/2026

Texas State Railroad "Official"
Polar Express tickets are on sale now! 🚂
https://texasstaterailroad.net/the-polar-express/

Experience a breathtaking year-round train ride through the stunning Piney Woods. Link in comments to find out more. ⬇️

10/17/2026

In 1888 investors founded a town in the Cherokee County pine woods called New Birmingham, built a four story brick hotel with gas lights and a billiard room, and expected it to become the Pittsburgh of the South. Today you cannot find it without a map and a machete. 🌲

The pitch was real. East Texas has iron ore in the ground, it has timber for charcoal, and it has limestone for flux, which is everything a blast furnace needs sitting within a few miles of itself. A sewing machine salesman named Anderson Blevins put the deal together, the Tassie Belle furnace went into blast, and a second furnace followed. The Southern Hotel went up with eighty rooms and a crowd of investors and politicians rolling through on the Cotton Belt line. The population pushed past two thousand.

Then the arithmetic caught up. The ore was lower grade than the prospectus implied, the furnaces ran hot and inefficient, a Texas law restricting foreign corporate land holdings choked off the outside capital, and the Panic of 1893 ended the argument. By 1900 the furnaces were cold. The hotel burned in 1926. The town was gone within a generation of its founding. Today there is a small cemetery, some scattered glassy slag, and foundation stone under the pine needles about six miles east of Rusk. 🏚️

Texas had an iron town once. The pine woods took it back. 🧱

10/15/2026

RUSK TOWN HALL MEETING

🏙️ HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF RUSK! 🏙️

The City of Rusk is asking residents to be part of the conversation as work continues on the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

If you have ideas about Rusk’s future — growth, development, infrastructure, community needs, land use, tourism, housing, recreation and more — this is your chance to speak up and help guide the direction of our community.

📅 Tuesday, October 20
⏰ 5:30 PM
📍 Rusk City Hall Chambers
116 E. 5th Street, Rusk

Residents are encouraged to attend the Town Hall Meeting, share their ideas and ask questions.

Can’t make it in person? Be sure to take the community survey using the QR code on the flyer.

❤️ Rusk’s future should reflect the people who call it home. Make your voice heard!

For questions, contact Victoria Minton, Interim City Manager/City Secretary, at 903-683-2213.

10/12/2026

🎶🚗 RUSK CRUISE NIGHT IS GOING BACK TO THE ’50s! 🚗🎶

Get ready to RUSK & ROLL because our November Cruise Night is turning Downtown Rusk into a good old-fashioned Sock Hop on the Square! 💕🕺

📅 Saturday, November 14
⏰ 6–9 PM
📍 Downtown Rusk • On the Square

🚘 6:30-7 PM: Cruise through town
🎉 7–9 PM: Meet back on the Square to eat, dance, hang out and enjoy the fun!

Come dressed in your best ’50s style — think poodle skirts, leather jackets, cat-eye glasses, cuffed jeans and T-Birds! We’ll have:

🎶 Sock Hop Dance Party
🏆 Best ’50s Ride
👗 Best ’50s Costume
🕺 Elvis Look-Alike Contest
🎵 Name That ’50s Tune
🥧 Cherry Pie Eating Contest
🍔 Pop-Up ’50s Diner & Food Trucks
🥤 Root B**r Floats & Treats
📸 Photo Ops
…and MORE!

Bring your ride, bring your family and come enjoy a night of classic cars, great music, good food and ’50s fun!

💗 RUSK & ROLL — where the ’50s come back to life!

10/11/2026

Another awesome Cruise Night is in the books! Cruise & Boos was a blast!
Thank you to everyone that came out!

10/10/2026

🎃🚗 TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT — CRUISE & BOOS IS TAKING OVER DOWNTOWN RUSK! 🚗🎃

Come out for a spooky-fun edition of Rusk Cruise Night packed with cool rides, great food, music and Halloween spirit!

📅 TONIGHT, October 10
⏰ 6–9 PM
📍 Downtown Rusk • On the Square

🚘 6–7 PM: Cruise through town
🎶 7–9 PM: Park, hang out and enjoy the fun on the Square

And come hungry! Tonight’s food lineup includes:

🍗 AJ's Wings & Things
🥤 The Tipzy Gypzy
🥨 The Pretzel Place
🍿 K&S Treats

Bring your ride, bring your costume and bring your Halloween spirit! 👻🕸️

🎃 Where the rides are sweet and the night gets spooky!
See you tonight in Downtown Rusk!

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

🚂✨ THE MAGIC OF THE POLAR EXPRESS™ IS COMING TO THE Texas State Railroad! ✨🚂

Beginning November 13, families can climb aboard THE POLAR EXPRESS™ for an unforgettable journey from the Palestine Depot to the North Pole and back! 🎄❤️

Wear your favorite pajamas and get ready for a magical Christmas adventure complete with:

☕ Hot chocolate & cookies
🔔 A special silver sleigh bell from St. Nick — only believers can hear it ring!
🎄 A festive ride filled with Christmas magic and memories your family will treasure

And when making your reservation, don’t forget to purchase the official THE POLAR EXPRESS™ book for your child to make the experience even more special! 📖✨

🎟️ Tickets are available now!
Reserve your seats before they’re gone.
https://texasstaterailroad.net/the-polar-express/

🌟 Believe in the magic. Hear the bell. Make the memory.
🚂 ALL ABOARD THE POLAR EXPRESS™!

10/08/2026

🎃👻 RUSK CRUISE NIGHT IS GETTING SPOOKY! 👻🚗

Start your engines, grab your costumes and bring your Halloween spirit because CRUISE & BOOS is taking over Downtown Rusk! 🕷️🎃

Join us THIS Saturday, October 10 from 6–9PM for a Halloween edition of Rusk Cruise Night packed with classic cars, cool rides, costumes, music, food and plenty of family fun!

🚗 6–7PM — Cruise through town
🎃 7–9PM — Park & hang out on the Square

And this month we’re adding even MORE Halloween fun!

🍬 Trunk-or-Treat on the Square
🏆 Best Decorated Ride
🎭 Best Costume
🐾 Best Pet Costume
🎶 Music
🌮 Food Trucks

Decorate your car, truck, Jeep, hot rod, motorcycle or whatever you drive and come join the fun — you don’t have to have a classic car to cruise!

📍 Downtown Rusk • On the Square
📅 Saturday, October 10
⏰ 6:00 — 9:00PM

👻 Where the rides are sweet and the night gets spooky!

Bring your ride. Bring your costume. Bring some candy. Bring the whole family!
🎃🚗 COME CRUISE & BOOS WITH US IN RUSK! 🚗🎃

PS — If you or someone you know would like to come play LIVE MUSIC, let me know! Wouldn’t be a paid gig, but you would get some good exposure. 🎵 🎤 🎶
TAG AWAY! 😊

10/06/2026

HUNGRY HUNGRY HUMP DAY!
Tomorrow, October 7, 10AM-2PM in downtown Rusk.
We have a couple of “first timers” food trucks in the lineup too!

Super Gallo
The Tipzy Gypzy
Greek Bites
K&S Treats