LETTER: Seeing local history by bus or tram

Fall weather cools our days. The change in temperature reminds me of an enjoyable activity – riding on a tram or bus to see historical sites.

What if a tour company wanted to operate a tram or bus service in Rusk for paying customers to see and hear about places of history in Rusk? Just around the Rusk Square, how many historical sights could be viewed in a leisurely two-hour ride?

Several places most likely come to the mind of any reader. A quick list might include the Cherokee County Courthouse, the Summers home, the Perkins home, the Cherokee Civic Theatre, the Rusk Post Office mural, the Rusk College steps at Butler Park, the Old Bonner Bank Building, a home on the New Birmingham townsite, the Rusk 2nd Public School site, the Rusk Footbridge and so on.

Once, my family rode on a boat tour of the Big Cypress Bayou in Jefferson, Texas. In some places, the tour guide could only tell what event had happened at a place along the river route. Those of us riding on the boat tour simply used our imaginations to match the tour guide’s description of a former fort, saloon, mill or other site.

Not all pieces of the Forest Hill Plantation, Rusk College or the Caddo Indian mounds remain in their original condition. However, each place and many others in Alto and Rusk are worth a visit to honor and learn about the lives of the people who built Cherokee County. What a pleasant activity a visiting family would have riding in a comfortable coach to make an extended combined Alto-Rusk tour. Perhaps donations could be taken somewhere along the tour route to benefit the senior classes of Alto and Rusk High Schools. I – and perhaps others like me – would be glad to volunteer to help restore historical buildings in the Alto and Rusk areas.

Highway 69 becomes busier and busier every day. What an enticement to slowdown and enjoy the backroads of Cherokee County a motorized, historical tour could be! I can imagine a group of eager people gathered in front of a storefront on the Rusk Courthouse Square. Men, women and children look around eagerly, ready to experience unique parts of Cherokee County by riding through interesting times and places. An office location for the tour business on the Square could provide restrooms, snacks and ticket sale revenue to benefit all county residents. Cherokee County is worth the price of a trip around town 

Kathie Cox,
Alto Texas