John Yellott Rust

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of John Yellott Rust. Now pay attention, because this one starts with a kid digging holes in the dirt and ends with a man who wired up half of West Texas. John Yellott Rust was born into a prominent family at Leesburg, Virginia, and got his education there and over in Maryland.

But schooling only took him so far. At sixteen years old, he went to work digging post holes for a telegraph company. Not exactly glamorous, but here's the thing about John Rust.

He moved fast. By seventeen, he was construction foreman on a telegraph line running all the way from New York City to Buffalo. Foreman.

At seventeen. Whatever they saw in him, they weren't wrong. Then at nineteen, he made a turn nobody could have predicted.

He moved to Hamilton, Texas, and spent the next twelve years as a farmer and rancher. Twelve years of wide-open land, hard work, and Texas sun. In 1892, joined by two younger brothers, he moved his outfit west.

West Texas, specifically, where the sky gets bigger and the distances get serious. Then came 1898, and a cattle-buying trip that changed everything. He passed through San Angelo for the first time, and he recognized its potential for growth.

That phrase is doing a lot of work. A man who'd strung wire from New York to Buffalo, who'd farmed the Hill Country for over a decade, looked at San Angelo and saw something worth betting on. Soon after, he bought the local hand-operated telephone business and started running toll lines to nearby towns.

And in those early days, he and his brothers did it all themselves. Dug the holes. Placed the poles.

Strung the wire. On occasion, they even handled the downtown switchboard. The president of the company, working the switchboard.

That's not a man who thought any job was beneath him. Under Rust's leadership, the San Angelo Telephone Company extended a hundred toll lines across ten counties, serving nineteen exchanges in the area. He served as alderman after San Angelo incorporated in 1904, a civic leader as much as a business one.

When he retired in 1948, the company he'd built from a hand-operated local exchange was the second largest independent telephone firm in the entire state of Texas. More than fifty years he'd led that company, right here near this site where the first office stood. John Yellott Rust died in San Angelo on October 7th, 1952.

Started with a post hole digger. Left behind a network that connected half of West Texas. Not bad for a boy from Leesburg, Virginia.

What the marker says

President and general manager, for more than 50 years, of San Angelo Telephone Company (first office near this site). Born to a prominent family at Leesburg, Virginia, Rust was educated there and in Maryland. He went to work at 16 digging post holes for a telegraph company and at 17 became construction foreman on a telegraph line from New York City to Buffalo. At the age of 19 he moved to Hamilton, Texas, and spent 12 years there as a farmer and rancher. In 1892, joined by two younger brothers, he moved his outfit to West Texas. On a cattle-buying trip in 1898, he first saw San Angelo and recognized its potential for growth. Soon he bought the local hand-operated telephone business and began running toll lines to nearby towns. In the early days he and his brothers dug the holes, placed the poles, and strung the telephone wire. On occasion, they even handled the downtown switchboard. Under Rust's leadership the company extended 100 toll lines to 10 counties, serving 19 exchanges in this area. When he retired in 1948 it was the second largest Independent telephone firm in Texas. A civic leader, Rust served the city as alderman after it incorporated in 1904. He died in San Angelo on October 7, 1952. (1973)