Russellville | |
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City | |
Logan County courthouse in Russellville, Kentucky
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Location in the state of Kentucky |
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Coordinates: 36°50′33″N 86°53′34″W / 36.84250°N 86.89278°WCoordinates: 36°50′33″N 86°53′34″W / 36.84250°N 86.89278°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Kentucky |
County | Logan |
Established | 1810 |
Incorporated | 1840 |
Named for | a local landowner |
Government | |
• Mayor | Mark Stratton |
Area | |
• Total | 10.6 sq mi (27.6 km2) |
• Land | 10.6 sq mi (27.5 km2) |
• Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
Elevation | 594 ft (181 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 6,947 |
Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP Code | 42276 |
Area code(s) | 270 & 364 |
FIPS code | 21-67512 |
GNIS feature ID | 0502534 |
Website | www |
Russellville is a home rule-class city in Logan County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,947 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census.
Local historian. Alex C. Finley claimed the area was first settled by Gasper Butcher, as a frontier settlement of the Transylvania Colony, of Virginia, now present-day Russellville, Kentucky, 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, when William Cook and his wife erected Cook's Cabin, accompanied by eighteen-year-old William Stewart. Also known as Cook's Station, the community – located about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the present city – became Logan Court House when it was chosen as the seat of newly formed Logan County in 1792.
Gen. William Russell was given a 2,000-acre (810 ha) grant for his military service during the American Revolution. He donated part of this property, in 1795, as a platted section for the county seat, known as Logan Court House. The town was renamed in Russell's honor in 1798. It was formally established by the state legislature on January 15, 1810. It was incorporated as a city on February 19, 1840.
In the early 19th century, the community had leaders who were politically prominent in the state. Four homes in the city still stand which at one time were the residences of future governors of Kentucky: John Breathitt, James Morehead, John J. Crittenden, and Charles S. Morehead.