Rush Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Rush Historic District is a zinc
mining region of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas
. Now located within Buffalo National River
, the district includes ruins dating from 1880 to 1940. The area was an important part of what became known as the North Arkansas Lead and Zinc District, and played a role in the development of railroads and modern infrastructure in the area.
During World War I the Rush Creek mines were the center of the zinc industry in Arkansas. Ten mining companies operated 13 developed mines within the district, more than in any other mining district within the North Arkansas District.
The buildings, structures, and ruins at Rush are the last visible remains of historic zinc mining activity in Arkansas. Of the other mining districts which once stretched across northern Arkansas, only limited debris now marks those sites. Rush is the only area left to retain not only the mines, but also buildings, structures, and ruins pertaining to mining and community life. The Rush Historic District exists today within the same environment and setting as it did during its periods of historic significance. Nearly as isolated today as it was historically, it has been little touched by time. The ghost town, mines, and waste piles visible on the bluffs immediately set the flavor of the district as an abandoned mountain mining community. The buildings, structures, ruins, and sites in the district exist in the same relationships as they did during the mining era.
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
mining region of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Now located within Buffalo National River
Buffalo National River
The Buffalo River, located in northern Arkansas, was the first National River to be designated in the United States. The Buffalo River is slightly more than in length, with the lower flowing within the boundaries of an area managed by the National Park Service, where it is designated the '. The...
, the district includes ruins dating from 1880 to 1940. The area was an important part of what became known as the North Arkansas Lead and Zinc District, and played a role in the development of railroads and modern infrastructure in the area.
During World War I the Rush Creek mines were the center of the zinc industry in Arkansas. Ten mining companies operated 13 developed mines within the district, more than in any other mining district within the North Arkansas District.
The buildings, structures, and ruins at Rush are the last visible remains of historic zinc mining activity in Arkansas. Of the other mining districts which once stretched across northern Arkansas, only limited debris now marks those sites. Rush is the only area left to retain not only the mines, but also buildings, structures, and ruins pertaining to mining and community life. The Rush Historic District exists today within the same environment and setting as it did during its periods of historic significance. Nearly as isolated today as it was historically, it has been little touched by time. The ghost town, mines, and waste piles visible on the bluffs immediately set the flavor of the district as an abandoned mountain mining community. The buildings, structures, ruins, and sites in the district exist in the same relationships as they did during the mining era.
See also
- Buffalo River State Park Historic DistrictBuffalo River State Park (Arkansas)Buffalo River State Park was an Arkansas state park, established in 1938, that was absorbed into Buffalo National River when the Federal park was established in 1972. The area is now known as Buffalo Point...
- Big Buffalo Valley Historic DistrictBig Buffalo Valley Historic DistrictThe Big Buffalo Valley Historic District, also known as the Boxley Valley Historic District, is notable as a cultural landscape in Buffalo National River. It comprises the Boxley Valley in northern Arkansas, near the town of Boxley. The valley includes a number of family-operated farms, primarily...
- Parker-Hickman Farm Historic DistrictParker-Hickman Farm Historic DistrictThe Parker-Hickman Farm includes the oldest standing log structure in Buffalo National River. The farm was homesteaded in the 1840's by settlers from Tennessee. It embodies an agricultural landscape with farmstead, extant fields , fencerows, roads, cattle gates, garden and orchard plots, wooded...