Russell, Kentucky | |
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City | |
Location of Russell, Kentucky |
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Coordinates: 38°31′5″N 82°41′52″W / 38.51806°N 82.69778°WCoordinates: 38°31′5″N 82°41′52″W / 38.51806°N 82.69778°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Kentucky |
County | Greenup |
Incorporated | February 23, 1874 |
Named for | John Russell, a local landowner |
Government | |
• Type | Mayor-Council |
• Mayor | William C. Hopkins |
Area | |
• Total | 3.03 sq mi (7.84 km2) |
• Land | 3.01 sq mi (7.80 km2) |
• Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.04 km2) |
Elevation | 646 ft (197 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 3,380 |
• Density | 1,123/sq mi (433.4/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 41169 (part in 41101) |
Area code(s) | 606 |
FIPS code | 21-67458 |
GNIS feature ID | 0502497 |
Website | www |
Russell is a home rule-class city on the south bank of the Ohio River in Greenup County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 3,380 as of the 2010 census, down from 3,645 at the 2000 census. Russell is a suburb of Ashland and part of the Huntington-Ashland-Ironton metropolitan area. It has close economic affiliations with its neighbors, Ashland and Flatwoods in Kentucky and Ironton in Ohio.
The hilly site near the confluence of White Oak Creek and the Ohio was chosen by pioneer Jeff Moore in 1823 in order to provide protection for his camp against attacks by local American Indian tribes. In 1829, James E. McDowell, William Lindsay Poage, and his brother erected an iron furnace; they named the foundry and the community that grew up around it "Amanda Furnace" after William's infant daughter. The furnace ceased operation in 1861.
John Russell and his Means and Russell Iron Company purchased the land of the present city beside Amanda Hill from the Poage brothers. They laid out and established the town of Riverview in 1869 in expectation of an expansion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad westward from Huntington, West Virginia, to Cincinnati, Ohio. Ferry service to Ohio began in 1870, local landowners agreed to rename the community after its founder in 1873, and the city was formally incorporated under the name "Russell" in 1874. The expected C&O spur did not arrive until 1889 but, when it did, it constructed a railyard, roundhouse, and shops and the city grew quickly. The city celebrates this influence with the annual "Russell Railroad Days" each August.