The Rush Historic District is a

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

mining region of the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. Now located within

Buffalo National River The Buffalo River, located in Northern Arkansas, was the first List of areas in the United States National Park System#National rivers and national wild and scenic rivers, National River to be designated in the United States. The Buffalo River i ...

, 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. The district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1987.

References

Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas Geography of Marion County, Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Buffalo National River Zinc mining in the United States Mining in Arkansas Yellville, Arkansas {{MarionCountyAR-NRHP-stub

See also

References