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Mostly clear. Low 77F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

Rusk County Historical Commission excited for future

The recent Commissioners’ approval to utilize the nearby vacant lot for the future home of the new Rusk County Historical Commission building has RCHC coordinators and volunteers excited for the future of Rusk County’s past. 

While the not-so-historic cabin, located on the Depot Museum grounds, has been an appreciated home to the thousands of documents, photos, and books collected by the Historical Commission, it has seen better days. With daylight shining through corners no longer sealed and logs rotting away at an alarming rate, this souvenir shop turned archive is quickly becoming a detriment to the documents it was intended to protect. 

Antique documents requiring specific climates fade and deteriorate as the fans and struggling air conditioner pump East Texas humidity into the air. Shelves are full to capacity with binder after binder filled with some original and many copied documents dating back into the 1800s. Albums full of photos, many of them unlabeled, faces with names lost to time stacked in boxes waiting to be sorted without a long-term storage option in the crowded cabin. 

John Dulin, RCHC’s Marker Chairman, has gladly dedicated decades of his time creating bridges to long-lost familial connections and following the roots of family trees across the country. As one of a handful of genealogists keeping a watchful eye on the centuries of history housed inside the crumbling cabin, he beams with secret pride when he considers all of the possibilities for progress in the future build. While no plans have been finalized, they are designing and redesigning, constantly working to create the best possible option for the most reasonable cost. 

The group’s sights are set on a large metal structure, the most cost-effective option. Plans for walls full of shelves and tables for research are drawn in pencil with ideas fluctuating as cost points and fundraising alternatives arise. 

“We definitely need money because we don’t get a lot of funding,” said Dulin, always reluctant to solicit outside help. “The county only pays for our utilities and such as that. Anything we get to put a roof on the building or paint it we have to generate the funds, usually through donations.” 

No large-scale fundraisers are in the works but the group of archival archeologists is always prepared to accept help when it comes their way. Their goals are lofty and will come at a hefty cost, as does anything in these trying times.

“We’re looking at basically being a repository for local and family history,” said Dulin. “I know what it’s like to travel all over the United States, spending a fortune and using my vacation time trying to pick out these little records and glean them.”

“There’s still a lot of history out there waiting to be found.” 

To donate time, documentation, or funding to the Rusk County Historical Commission contact John Dulin, RCHC Marker Chairman, at 903-657-4381.

The office is open Wednesdays from 1:30 p.m. through 4 p.m. and is located on the Depot Museum grounds at 514 N. High in Henderson. 

Originally published on thehendersonnews.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.’” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)