Rusk County straddles the divide between the Sabine and Angelina Rivers in the piney woods of East Texas. The first Anglo settlers in the area arrived in 1822 but it was not until 1839 that there was an established presence. That year also coincided with the Battle of the Neches, which saw the Cherokee defeated and removed from the Rusk County area to Indian Territory. Rusk County was originally part of Nacogdoches County, but separated in 1843 with Henderson as the county seat.