HATCHETT FERRY, TEXAS. Hatchett Ferry, also known as David Rusk Ferry, was on the Angelina River just north of the mouth of Atoy Creek in eastern Cherokee County. The crossing was a stopping point for travelers entering Cherokee County from the east. The site, located where the Cherokee Trace crossed the Angelina, was first named for David Rusk, who established a ferry there in the 1840s. When H. G. Hatchett bought the ferry in 1850, he renamed the crossing. In addition to the ferry service, Hatchett also operated an inn at his two-story frame house. The building, used by a succession of ferry operators, remained standing until after World War II. By the early 1990s the site had been abandoned.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Cherokee County History (Jacksonville, Texas: Cherokee County Historical Commission, 1986).
