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William Ross Rust Family Photograph Collection, approximately 1865-1938

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Rust (Family : Rust, William Ross, 1850-1928)
Title
William Ross Rust Family Photograph Collection
Dates
approximately 1865-1938 (inclusive)
Quantity
2 boxes, (81 photographs; 2 boxes, 1 folder)
Collection Number
PH1421
Summary
Photographs of the William Ross Rust family, the construction of the William Rust building in Tacoma, portraits of soldiers and people from the 1860s including John Wilkes Booth and Jefferson Davis
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the UW Libraries Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator is required to view original photographs.

Request at UW

Languages
Collection materials are in English.
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Biographical Note

W.R. Rust was born in Pennsylvania on August 1, 1850 and died in 1928. He moved to Washington in 1889, and purchased the Tacoma Smelting & Refining Company, a business that occupied 67 acres in Tacoma. He made his fortune smelting copper at what would later become the infamous ASARCO plant along Commencement Bay that caused the lead and arsenic contamination around Puget Sound that will take generations to correct. But little was understood about environmental pollution when Rust owned the plant, and he was considered by most to be a man of vision and a bringer of jobs. The City of Ruston is named after him. The historic Rust mansions are also a part of his legacy. The original was constructed on 1001 North "I" Street in Tacoma's north end. The Rust family, including William's wife Helen and two sons, Henry Arthur Rust (August 21, 1900-May 13, 1936), and Howard Rust (April 11, 1886- April 9, 1911), lived in this house until 1911, the year that Howard mysteriously died. At that time a new house was constructed a few blocks away at 521 North Yakima Avenue because Mrs. Rust could not live in the house so closely associated with the death of her son. W.R. Rust founded the Tacoma Smelting and Refining Company, was president of the Chichagoff Mining Company (1910-1934), and held other business interests in Tacoma, Washington and Alaska. He was involved in over a dozen business concerns, including his own investment firm. In 1921, his business success was reflected in the construction of the Rust Building, located in the central business district of Tacoma. He was interested in Democratic Party politics and a friend of Hugh C. Wallace, a political activist and ambassador to France.

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Content Description

Photographs of the William Ross Rust family and of the construction of the William Rust building in Tacoma in 1920. Also includes carte-de-visite and tintype photographs of Rust family members and soldiers from the era of the Civil War and just after the war. Among them are portraits of John Wilkes Booth and of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy. The carte-de-visite and tintype photographs were probably originally in an album.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Status of creator's copyrights is unknown; restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

July, 31, 2006.

Processing Note

Processed by: Sara Cordes, 2017

Separated Materials

Rust Family Papers (Collection No. 1115)

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and Subjects

Subject Terms

  • Soldiers--United States--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Geographical Names

  • Tacoma (Wash.)--Buildings--Design and construction--Photographs
  • United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

  • Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
  • Photographs

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865--Photographs
    • Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889--Photographs
    • Hanson, Roger Weightman, 1827-1863--Photographs
    • Rust, William Ross, 1850-1928--Archives
    • Rust, William Ross, 1850-1928--Family--Photographs


2017 (Last modified: 8/24/2020)

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