My journey today took me to the ghost town of "Rush". It is south of Yellville Arkansas a few miles just off of highway 14. I hope you enjoy the pics.
The ghost town of "Rush" stands as a mute testimony to the activities of a bygone era. Zinc Carbonate ore was discovered in this valley in the late 1880's and the "rush" was on. Soon the hillsides were dotted with mines sprouting colorful names such as Morning Star, White Eagle, Monte Cristo, Red Cloud, Buela, MacIntosh, Edith and Yellow Rose. The Population of the valley rose and fell with the demands of the Zinc market, The peak came during the period 1914-1917 when more than 5000 people were said to have lived and worked here. At the end of World War 1 the bottom fell out of the Zinc market and mines were abandoned. These buildings date from the early 1900's and were inhabited until the 1960's, serving as homes, general store and post office.
 |
| What's left of the General Store |
 |
| The Smelter |
 |
| One of the many Zinc mines in the area. |
I camped in Rush in the 60's and 70's when Fred Durst owned most of the property there. My family would travel there with the Memphis "Rock" Club and explore the mines and collect mineral samples. From what I have seen of pictures of the area I think Fred was a better custodian than our government but I don't recall that he lived to see "Wild Rivers" take the land. My parents built a cabin (on leased property)near where Clabber Creek empties into the Buffalo.
ReplyDeleteDave Neville
I met Fred Durst several times at Rush and also visited him shortly before he died after he had moved away from Rush. I also went to the "Rock Club" in Memphis with my parents. We visited Rush many times. I knew some people who were in the club, I believe names Bowman but I could be wrong, who had a cabin near Clabber Creek. I'm wondering if I'm thinking of your parents or maybe these were different people. It was great that the park preserved the Rush area but it lost much of its character in the process.
Delete