Rusk
Ghost town · Surry County, North Carolina

Rusk is a ghost town in Surry County, North Carolina. It is one of 7 former communities in Surry County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 16th among the 48 North Carolina counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Rusk as a historical populated place on the Elkin North topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 36.2899° N, 80.7623° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Elkin North |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 1,067 ft |
| Nearest living town | Boonville, NC |
| Distance to it | 4.9 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1731652 |
| Coordinates | 36.28986, -80.76229 |
What's there now
Rusk is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Boonville, NC (population 1,502), about 4.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 1,067 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Lime Rockghost town · Surry County · 9.3 mi
- Weathersponghost town · Wilkes County · 9.3 mi
- Dimmetteghost town · Wilkes County · 10.2 mi
- Allinghost town · Wilkes County · 11.6 mi
- Flat Shoalsghost town · Surry County · 13.8 mi
- Martinghost town · Wilkes County · 13.8 mi
- New Castleghost town · Wilkes County · 13.8 mi
- New Homeghost town · Surry County · 14.5 mi
- Brier Creekghost town · Wilkes County · 14.7 mi
- Chuckleghost town · Wilkes County · 15.5 mi
- Boydenghost town · Surry County · 16.1 mi
- Offerghost town · Wilkes County · 16.6 mi
Questions
Where is Rusk?
Rusk is in Surry County, North Carolina, at 36.2899, -80.7623.
How many ghost towns are in Surry County?
Surry County, North Carolina has 7 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.