Rush Historic District
Rush
A valley town that boomed during the late-19th-century zinc rush, now reduced to stone storefronts, smelter ruins and mine shafts quietly hidden in the forest.
Rush rose in the 1880s after zinc was discovered and reached its peak during World War I, when zinc prices soared, with a population of about 5,000. After the war, prices collapsed. The town gradually fell into ruin, and its last residents left in the 1960s. Today it is protected as a national historic site. Along a gravel road you can see stone storefronts, the remains of a hotel, the smelter ruins of the Morning Star Mine and mine entrances, with short trails and interpretive signs. The mine shafts are dangerous and must not be entered. Nearby, Rush Campground and a river landing serve as put-in and take-out points for downstream floats.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Buffalo Point & Indian Rockhouse
- Tyler Bend
- Arkansas Grand Canyon Overlook (Scenic 7 Byway)
- Jasper, Arkansas
- Alum Cove Natural Bridge
- Hemmed-In Hollow Falls
- Big Bluff Goat Trail
- Steel Creek & Roark Bluff