Marker Inscription
New Birmingham was a boom town nearby in the late 1880s built around local iron ore operations. The furnaces, capable of producing 50 tons of iron daily, were named "Tassie Belle," after the wife of the town founder A. B. Bevins, and the "Star and Crescent." About 275 workmen were required to keep furnaces in continual operation. The town grew to over 3, 000 people with a business district of 15 blocks including 32 mercantile houses, an ice plant, the spacious Southern Hotel, bottling works, and an early electric power plant. The 1883 panic bankrupted the industries and killed the town.
About this site
Tassie Belle and Star and Cresent Iron Ore Furnaces, Site of is a historical marker in Rusk, Cherokee County, dedicated in 1996. It is one of 112 historical markers documented in Cherokee County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 245 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 31.7795, -95.1205 near Rusk. The nearest cataloged historic site is New Birmingham (cemetery), about 0.7 miles away. Others within a short drive include Bonner Bank Building, Old, C.S.A. Prisoner of War Compound, and James Stephen Hogg and Cherokee County.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5073006869. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
