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History · Russellville

Russellville’s post office opened in 1848, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper.

1848first post office
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Russellville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Russellville began

When was Russellville founded?

1848

The Russellville post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 778178 years
Founding year: the first Russellville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Russellville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1848: 178 years of Russellville.Old housesHalf of Russellville’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Russellville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Russellville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewRock House Ford Bridge, Spanning North …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Russellville, 1848 to 1918

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Russellville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Born hereJames F. Short is born here
  5. 1918Born hereHarry Smith is born here
The story

How Russellville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Russellville.

Read it all →

Russellville was platted in 1838, and named in honor of Joseph Russell, the original owner of the town site. A post office called Russellville has been in operation since 1848.

The Louis Bruce Farmstead Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Russellville, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Rock House Ford Bridge, Spanning North Moreau River at County Road 39Date?Rock House Ford Bridge, Spanning North Moreau River a…
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.

Rock House Ford Bridge, Spanning North Moreau River at County Road 39
Retake this viewRock House Ford Bridge, Spanning North Moreau River at County Road 39

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
On the National Register

1 listing protects 4 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2020
Trinity Lutheran Church Historic District
Trinity Lutheran Church Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Trinity Lutheran Church Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2020

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Russellville

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

See all →
H
Harry SmithAmerican football player, born 1918 · b. 1918
J
James F. ShortAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1902

Questions about Russellville’s history

What year was Russellville founded?

The Russellville post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Russellville?

One place: the Trinity Lutheran Church Historic District (listed 2020).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.