William Ross Rust Family Photograph Collection, approximately 1865-1938

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.