Russellville is a city in
and the county seat of Logan
County
, Kentucky
, United States
. The population was 7,149 at the
2000 census. It is named for
General William Russell, a Revolutionary
War soldier and frontier leader.
History

The bank robbed by the James' gang in
Russellville in 1868, now used as a residence
Between the first settlers about
1790 and the
town's incorporation in
1798, Russellville was
called Cook's Station, Logan Court House, Rogues’ Harbour, and Big
Boiling Spring. Settlers chose the name Russellville to honor
general
William Russell
of the
American Revolutionary
War.
It is the county seat of Logan
County
, one of Kentucky
's original
counties. Several homes in the downtown area are on the
historic register.
During the
Civil War, Confederate
sympathizers met in the city in the
Russellville Convention, to create a
Confederate government
in Kentucky. The state did not officially secede, but this group
tried to run an alternate government and was recognized by the
Confederacy.
Before Jesse James joined his gang, its early members robbed the
Southern Deposit Bank in Russellville on
March
20,
1868. A bank on Russellville's city
square has a large mural in the lobby depicting the robbery. The
town arranges a reenactment of the robbery (a play on horseback)
during the Tobacco and Heritage Festival.
Geography
Russellville is located at (36.842601, -86.892661) .
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
10.6
square miles
(27.6
km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 7,149
people, 3,064 households, and 1,973 families residing in the city.
The
population density was 672.1
people per square mile (259.4/km²). There were 3,458 housing units
at an average density of 325.1/sq mi (125.5/km²). The racial
makeup of the city was 78.64%
White,
18.62%
African American, 0.39%
Native
American, 0.36%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.57%
from
other races,
and 1.38% from two or more races.
Hispanics or Latinos of any
race were 1.58% of the population.
There were 3,064 households out of which 27.4% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were
married couples living together, 17.4% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families.
32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.84.
The age distribution was 23.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to
24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100
females there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and
over, there were 79.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,647, and the
median income for a family was $31,448. Males had a median income
of $27,529 versus $20,032 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$15,654. About 17.1% of families and 23.0% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 37.0%
of those under age 18 and 20.4% of those age 65 or over.
Notable natives and residents
- Terrence W. Wilcutt, NASA
astronaut
- John J. Crittenden, U.S. Attorney General,
Kentucky Governor, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Representative
- Thomas L. Crittenden, Civil War general
- George B. Crittenden, Civil War general
- Bubba Wells, former NBA player
- Jim Price, former
NBA player
- Joseph
Jefferson, NFL
player
- Mark Thompson , MLB player
- Fletcher
Stockdale, former governor of Texas

- Elijah Hise, former United States Representative
from Kentucky
- Finis McLean, former United States
Representative from Kentucky
- Elijah Hise
Norton, former United States Representative from Missouri

- Otis Key, Harlem Globetrotter
- Presley O'Bannon, Marine Corps
officer, resident
- Athena Cage, recording artist,
producer, and songwriter
- Alice Allison Dunnigan,
first black female correspondent for Congress and the White
House
See also
References
External links