From the beginning of the Rusk County Depot Museum in 1978 until her death in 2017, Susan Weaver was a driving force in recording, interpreting, and preserving Rusk County history. She served as director of the Depot Museum from its inception until her retirement in 2009. Soon after the Depot opened, she said of a visiting group of children, "If a building could smile, this one did." A member of the Henderson Art League, she was an avid and accomplished artist whose recognized work often expressed her interest in local history. Her sharp eye for detail is visible in the mural in the Depot Children's Discovery Center interpreting Rusk County history from 1844 to 1979, the Caddo, Cherokee, and Mount Tabor scenes in the main museum, and the iconic logos she designed. She saw the museum as a living history book and wanted visitors, especially children, to learn the importance of keeping history alive for generations to come. She was instrumental in establishing the Heritage Syrup Festival on the Depot Museum grounds in 1988 and overseeing it for its first 20 years, bringing together family, volunteers, businesses, communities, crafters, historians, practitioners of folk art skills, experts, and amateurs to participate. Her expertise as museum curator and willingness to tackle any project also made her a valuable member of the board of the Howard-Dickinson House. As a vital part of the Rusk County Historical Commission, she was a resource to researchers, offering encouragement and assistance while serving as vice chair, marker chair, cemetery coordinator, reporting to the Texas Historical Commission, researching and obtaining historical markers, inventorying and documenting cemeteries and other Rusk County entities, and acquiring artifacts and buildings. Her achievements symbolize her love and passion for art and history, and her legacy lives on in the Depot Museum.