 Although it is nearly indistinguishable from the adjacent city of Tacoma, the predominantly residential area still retains its status as a separate municipality long after it ceased to be a company town.The local government opted to reclassify Ruston as a city in late 2012.In 1890 industrialist W.R. Rust established Tacoma Smelting & Refining Company and a company town for his employees, naming the place "Smelter".