Russellville dates to 1819, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #29 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Russellville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 41 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1821. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Russellville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Russellville is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #29 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Russellville’s overall grade.
Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Russellville’s 38.0 sits above most of its state (74% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 41 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1819.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Russellville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Russellville, building by building, 1894–1910
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
After the War of 1812, the U.S. government appropriated money to improve a route from Nashville to New Orleans. It was named Jackson's Military Road after Andrew Jackson, and it passed through what became Russellville. (Present-day Jackson Avenue and Jackson Highway, U.S. Route 43, follow portions of the original road.)
Russellville is named after Major William Russell, an early settler in the area who helped in the construction of Jackson's Military Road. The town grew at this road's intersection with the Gaines Trace.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Russellville’s post office has been open since 1821.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Gravel HillHester HeightsReedtownWoodlawn Heights
Gone or out of use
Newtownlocale
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Russellville
DevaneyKnights of PythiasLuketownOld TownOrmanSadlerWilson - Nooe
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Russellville’s history
What year was Russellville founded?
In 1819, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Russellville’s post office opened in 1821, and the census of 1870 counted 180 people here.
How does Russellville rank for history?
Russellville is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #29 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Russellville?
One place: the Russellville Commercial Historic District (listed 2019).
How old are the homes in Russellville?
8% of Russellville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1981.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2018
2012
