Ruston

Founded by aspiring industrialist William Rust to maintain political control over the area surrounding his smelter, the town of Ruston has been the center of much larger political battles than its small size would imply. Even as the Guggenheim empire bought and integrated the smelter into its American Smelting and Refining Company (Asarco) in 1905, the small community flourished outside the smelter gates with homes, shops, and more than its fair share of boarding houses and taverns for the ...