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 September 28, 2008 | Rusk County Courthouse Texas County Courthouse Project #45: Rusk County (Henderson, Texas) Home to Caddo and Tejas Indians, the area of what would become Rusk County was first visited by Spanish explorers in 1691. The county was formed on January 16, 1843 and named for Thomas Jefferson Rusk. Rusk started his career in Georgia where he worked as a lawyer. He helped Gonzales defend their cannon, signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, fought at the battle of San Jacinto and served as Secretary of War and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the Republic of Texas. He fought Indians in East Texas and helped drive the Cherokee to Oklahoma, for which his long time friend Sam Houston would never forgive him. Later in his career he accepted the position of Post Master General from President James Buchanan and served as president pro tem in the U.S. Senate. Rusk was stricken with grief when his wife died of tuberculosis in 1856. A little over a year later, with a tumor growing in his neck, Thomas Jefferson Rusk shot himself. A statue of Rusk was erected in front of the courthouse in 1936. Henderson was founded 1843 and named in 1846 for James Pinckney Henderson, the first Governor of Texas. Henderson was appointed attorney general of the Texas army and served as Secretary of State for the new Republic after Stephen F. Austin’s death. He was then appointed Texas minister to England and France where he helped secure the recognition of Texas by those countries. He was elected the first Governor in 1845 and while serving the office took command of the Texas volunteers during the Mexican-American War and led the Second Texas Regiment to victory in Monterrey. In 1930, the East Texas oilfield was discovered near Henderson resulting in a boom during the following decade. The present courthouse was built just prior to this boom in 1928. The building is pretty typical of courthouses built around this time. 
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