More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #127 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of Russell Springs was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Russell Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Russell Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Russell Springs is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #127 of 142 in Kentucky. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Russell Springs’ overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Russell Springs’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Russell Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The present city grew out of a resort centered on a local chalybeate spring. Rennick relates that Samuel Patterson was generally credited with settling the site and that the community was known as Big Boiling Springs by 1850. The post office was established in 1855 as "Russell Springs" after the county, but was discontinued in 1865 and reopened as Kimble (after local businessman George Kimble) in 1888. The community restored the name Russell Springs in 1901 and incorporated in 1936.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Russell Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Russell Springs sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Russell Springs.
People over time
Russell Springs, census by census
Grew from 104 people in 1910 to 2,715 in 2020, more than tenfold.
10 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Russell Springs’ Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Russell Springs
Nobody well known was born in Russell Springs itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Russell Springs post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Russell Springs rank for history?
Russell Springs is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #127 of 142 in Kentucky. 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.
How old are the homes in Russell Springs?
2% of Russell Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (9), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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