Russell County, Kentucky

Russell County
Russell County
County
	Russell County courthouse in Jamestown
	Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
	Kentucky's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 36°59′N 85°04′W / 36.99°N 85.06°W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	December 14, 1825
Named for	William Russell
Seat	Jamestown
Largest city	Russell Springs
Area
• Total	283 sq mi (730 km2)
• Land	254 sq mi (660 km2)
• Water	29 sq mi (80 km2) 10%
Population (2020)
• Total	17,991
• Estimate (2023)	18,279
• Density	64/sq mi (25/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.russellcountyky.com

Russell County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,991.^[1] Its county seat is Jamestown and its largest city is Russell Springs.^[2] The county was formed on December 14, 1825, from portions of Adair, Cumberland and Wayne Counties and is named for William Russell.^[3]

In 2015, the cities of Jamestown and Russell Springs became two of the first gigabit Internet communities in Kentucky with the completion of a state-of-the-art optical fiber network by the local telephone cooperative.^[4]

Wolf Creek Dam is located in southern Russell County. The dam impounds Cumberland River to form Lake Cumberland, a major tourism attraction for the county. Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery is also located in Russell County just below the dam.

Until relatively recently Russell County was a dry county, meaning that the sale of alcohol was prohibited. It voted to go "wet" in a referendum held on January 19, 2016, by a margin of 3,833 to 3,423 votes.^[5]^[6]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 283 square miles (730 km²), of which 254 square miles (660 km²) is land and 29 square miles (75 km²) (10%) is water.^[7] The highest point is 1,140 feet (350 m) atop Dickerson Ridge in the extreme northern part of the county and the lowest point is 530 feet (160 m) along the Cumberland River.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Casey County (north/EST Border)
Pulaski County (northeast/EST Border)
Wayne County (southeast/EST Border)
Clinton County (south)
Cumberland County (southwest)
Adair County (west)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	3,879		—
1840	4,238		9.3%
1850	5,349		26.2%
1860	6,024		12.6%
1870	5,809		−3.6%
1880	7,591		30.7%
1890	8,136		7.2%
1900	9,695		19.2%
1910	10,861		12.0%
1920	11,854		9.1%
1930	11,930		0.6%
1940	13,615		14.1%
1950	13,717		0.7%
1960	11,076		−19.3%
1970	10,542		−4.8%
1980	13,708		30.0%
1990	14,716		7.4%
2000	16,315		10.9%
2010	17,565		7.7%
2020	17,991		2.4%
2023 (est.)	18,279	^[8]	1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[9] 1790–1960^[10] 1900–1990^[11] 1990–2000^[12] 2010–2020^[1]

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,315 people, 6,941 households, and 4,796 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 per square mile (25/km²). There were 9,064 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile (14/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.34% White, 0.58% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,941 households, out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.50% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,042, and the median income for a family was $27,803. Males had a median income of $24,193 versus $18,289 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,183. About 20.40% of families and 24.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.80% of those under age 18 and 27.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Russell County is part of the historically and currently rock-ribbed Republican bloc of southeastern Kentucky that also includes such counties as Clinton, Cumberland, Casey, Pulaski, Laurel, Rockcastle, Monroe, McCreary, Clay, Jackson, Owsley and Leslie. These counties were opposed to secession during the Civil War era, and consequently became and have remained intensely Republican ever since.^[13] The last Democrat to win Russell County was Grover Cleveland in 1884, and the last Republican to not gain a majority was William Howard Taft in 1912 when his party was divided.

United States presidential election results for Russell County, Kentucky^[14]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	7,519	83.96%	1,331	14.86%	105	1.17%
2016	6,863	83.96%	1,093	13.37%	218	2.67%
2012	6,346	80.24%	1,445	18.27%	118	1.49%
2008	5,779	77.31%	1,569	20.99%	127	1.70%
2004	6,009	76.83%	1,772	22.66%	40	0.51%
2000	5,268	74.47%	1,710	24.17%	96	1.36%
1996	4,017	62.22%	1,582	24.50%	857	13.27%
1992	4,641	63.71%	1,950	26.77%	694	9.53%
1988	4,292	74.29%	1,455	25.19%	30	0.52%
1984	4,476	75.18%	1,448	24.32%	30	0.50%
1980	3,804	68.66%	1,693	30.56%	43	0.78%
1976	2,882	60.90%	1,803	38.10%	47	0.99%
1972	3,992	76.48%	1,169	22.39%	59	1.13%
1968	3,035	64.29%	961	20.36%	725	15.36%
1964	2,521	59.00%	1,729	40.46%	23	0.54%
1960	3,636	74.72%	1,230	25.28%	0	0.00%
1956	3,065	70.33%	1,284	29.46%	9	0.21%
1952	2,913	71.14%	1,171	28.60%	11	0.27%
1948	2,404	66.21%	1,191	32.80%	36	0.99%
1944	3,019	71.56%	1,185	28.09%	15	0.36%
1940	3,069	70.81%	1,250	28.84%	15	0.35%
1936	2,688	68.21%	1,235	31.34%	18	0.46%
1932	2,490	59.06%	1,699	40.30%	27	0.64%
1928	3,028	78.45%	823	21.32%	9	0.23%
1924	2,278	64.61%	1,224	34.71%	24	0.68%
1920	2,587	68.97%	1,157	30.85%	7	0.19%
1916	1,298	59.38%	859	39.30%	29	1.33%
1912	785	43.32%	713	39.35%	314	17.33%

Communities

Cities

Jamestown (county seat)
Russell Springs

Unincorporated communities

Ghost Town

Creelsboro

Notable people

Tara Conner, Miss Kentucky USA 2006, Miss USA 2006
Vernie McGaha, Former Kentucky State Senator
Doug Moseley, later a Kentucky state senator, was pastor of the Russell Springs First United Methodist Church from 1958 to 1960
Steve Wariner, country music singer and songwriter. Kentucky State Route 80 is named in his honor.
Jeff Hoover, Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, elected Speaker in late 2016.

References

^ ^a ^b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ "Russell County". The Kentucky Encyclopedia. 2000. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^ "DUO Broadband".
^ The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. p. 36.
^ "Home".
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
^ Sullivan, Robert David; "How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century"; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 6, 2018.