Established in 1847 as the city cemetery, Cedar Hill Cemetery stands at the south edge of Rusk in Cherokee County atop a hill surrounded by dense forest. Some of Rusk's oldest and most prominent residents are buried there, including members of the Bonner, Long, Miller, Perkins, Smith, and Cobble families, as well as early pioneers. Before 1917, B.F. and Lucy Vining created the west and south additions to the cemetery property, and in 1929 their heirs sold the rest of their land to the Rusk Cemetery Association. The cemetery's Old Section on the north side is filled with massive cedar trees, giving Cedar Hill Cemetery its name. Many war veterans are buried there, including at least 26 Confederate soldiers, two Spanish-American War veterans, 17 World War I veterans, 29 World War II veterans, and veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars. Its graves display a variety of materials and designs, including metal markers, stone-like tree trunks, ornate obelisks, and a brick crypt. The Cobble family reflects the pioneer families who traveled through early Texas during westward expansion: Thomas H. Cobble moved to Texas in 1844 and built the first brick business building in Rusk, and his grandson, Dr. Thomas H. Cobble, became a notable Rusk physician and chief of staff of Rusk Memorial Hospital in 1949. These pioneer family burials remain important reminders of the early settlement of Texas and the West.