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Logan County courthouse KentuckyPhoto: Bedford at en.wikipedia · Public domain
A−History
History · Russellville

Russellville’s post office opened in 1801, and 8 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #33 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 97 buildings between them. Most of Russellville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1800.

1801first post office
8on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
19famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Russellville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Russellville began

When was Russellville founded?

1801

The Russellville post office opened in 1801, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1810.

First census: 117 in 18002020 census: 7,164225 years

How historic is Russellville?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Russellville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1810.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 78% of U.S. towns, #33 of 142 in Kentucky. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Russellville’s overall grade.
Founding era1801, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19408.4% of homes (±3.8) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register8 listings, 101 historic buildings, 138 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 77%

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 Russellville’s 138 sits above most of its state (74% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 101 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% 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 (±3.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1810 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Russellville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1820 and 1860, then grew 6-fold.A historic districtThe Russellville Historic District takes in 61 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1909, drew every building in Russellville.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1867–1938.
★ What stands out · People over time

Russellville, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000180018501900195020001,712 in 1820Low: 1,089

Lost a third of its people between 1820 and 1860, then grew 6-fold.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Russellville’s Wikipedia page.

On the National Register

8 listings protect 101 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
101
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
William Forst House
William Forst HouseLong-Briggs HouseConfederate Monument in RussellvilleRussellville ArmoryRhea StadiumBlack Bottom Historic DistrictRev. James McGready HouseRussellville Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructuresObjects

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Modern Movement1
Art Deco1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Shotgun1
Single Pen1
William Forst HouseFederal
Long-Briggs HouseBuilding
Confederate Monument in RussellvilleObject
Russellville ArmoryModern Movement
Rhea StadiumArt Deco
Black Bottom Historic DistrictBungalow/Craftsman
All 8 listings
Rev. James McGready HouseBuilding · listed 1976Russellville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1976

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Every building

Russellville, building by building, 1886–1909

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.

Russellville fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Russellville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Russellville.

Read it all →

Local historian Alex C. Finley has claimed the area was first settled by Gasper Butcher, as a frontier settlement of the Transylvania Colony of Virginia, around 1780, but others have questioned this claim. Although the area is known to have been called "Big Boiling Spring", "Gasper Butcher's Spring", and "Butcher's Station", W.R. Jillson was unable to find written records of any habitation before 1790. That year William Cook and his wife erected Cook's Cabin, accompanied by eighteen-year-old William Stewart. Also known as "Cook's Station", the community was located about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the present city. It was renamed "Logan Court House" when it was chosen as the seat of newly formed Logan County in 1792.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Russellville, 1801 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1801Post officeThe Russellville post office opens
  3. 1812Born hereGeorge B. Crittenden is born here
  4. 1819Born hereThomas Leonidas Crittenden is born here
  5. 1867In the archiveClyde Rutheford on Grande Staircase
  6. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Logan County - Russellville - ED 71-1,…
  7. 20th century
  8. 1908In the archive"Taken from death, lynching at Russellville, Logan County, Kentucky" (NBY 4084)
  9. 1938In the archiveInformal Extemporaneous Remarks of the President in
  10. 1949Born hereTerrence W. Wilcutt is born here
  11. 1949Born hereJim Price is born here
  12. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 7,520
By decade

Russellville, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1900s10 items
Clyde Rutheford on Grande Staircase1867Clyde Rutheford on Grande StaircaseClyde Rutheford, Grande Staircase1867Clyde Rutheford, Grande Staircase1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Logan County - Russellville - ED 71-1, ED 71-2, ED 71-3, ED 71-4, ED…18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Lo…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY) - Logan County - Russellville - ED 71-1 to 918801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY)…"Taken from death, lynching at Russellville, Logan County, Kentucky" (NBY 4084)1908"Taken from death, lynching at Russellville, Logan Co…[Lynching, Russellville, Kentucky]1908[Lynching, Russellville, Kentucky][Lynching, Russellville, Kentucky]1908[Lynching, Russellville, Kentucky]Four African American men lynched on the "old proctor lynching tree" where "a total of nine men lynched on this tree" "…1908Four African American men lynched on the "old proctor…Four black men hung at the same tree (NBY 4378)1908Four black men hung at the same tree (NBY 4378)Photo taken about August 1, 1908 at Russellville, Logan County, Kentucky- Four black men hung at the same tree (NBY 437…1908Photo taken about August 1, 1908 at Russellville, Log…
1930s2 items
Informal Extemporaneous Remarks of the President in1938Informal Extemporaneous Remarks of the President inInformal Extemporaneous Remarks of the President in1938Informal Extemporaneous Remarks of the President in
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Russellville on the map, 1952 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Russellville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Russellville on the 1952 USGS mapRussellville on the 1983 USGS map1952Russellville 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 Russellville.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Clyde Rutheford on Grande Staircase
Retake this viewClyde Rutheford on Grande Staircase, 1867

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Russellville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

19 famous people were born in Russellville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Terrence W. WilcuttAmerican astronaut · b. 1949
Jim PriceAmerican basketball player · b. 1949
George B. CrittendenConfederate Army general · b. 1812
Thomas Leonidas CrittendenUnion Army general · b. 1819
Wilkinson CallAmerican politician · b. 1834
Alice Allison DunniganAmerican journalist, civil rights activist and … · b. 1906
Help out

Finish Russellville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewClyde Rutheford on Grande Staircase: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Russellville’s history

What year was Russellville founded?

The Russellville post office opened in 1801, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1810.

How does Russellville rank for history?

Russellville is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #33 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.

What is on the National Register in Russellville?

8 listings: 4 buildings, among them the William Forst House (listed 1973, the first), 2 historic districts, the Black Bottom Historic District and the Russellville Historic District, with 97 contributing buildings, 1 structure, and 1 object. 101 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Russellville?

8% of Russellville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1972.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.