Russell County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to ...

. Its county seat is Jamestown. The county was formed on December 14, 1825, from portions of Adair,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 1974 ...

and Wayne Counties and is named for William Russell. In 2015, the cities of Jamestown and Russell Springs became two of the first

gigabit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented ...

Internet communities in Kentucky with the completion of a state-of-the-art

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

network by the local telephone cooperative. Wolf Creek Dam is located in southern Russell County. The dam impounds

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

to form

Lake Cumberland Lake Cumberland is a reservoir in Clinton, Pulaski, Russell, Wayne, and Laurel, counties in Kentucky. The primary reasons for its construction were a means for flood control and the production of hydroelectric power. Its shoreline measures 1 ...

, a major tourism attraction for the county.

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery is a National Fish Hatchery located just below Wolf Creek Dam in Russell County, Kentucky. The hatchery is a federal hatchery and is a part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. History Wolf Creek National Fi ...

is also located in Russell County just below the dam. Until relatively recently Russell County was a

dry county A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across the ...

, meaning that the sale of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

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.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (10%) is water. The highest point is atop Dickerson Ridge in the extreme northern part of the county and the lowest point is along the

Major highways

* Cumberland Parkway * U.S. Route 127 in Kentucky *

Kentucky Route 80 Kentucky Route 80 (KY 80) is a state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. The route originates on the state's western border at Columbus in Hickman County and stretches across the southern portion of the state, ...

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

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 Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPop ...

was . There were 9,064 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.34%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.58%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

, 0.21% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...

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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $13,183. About 20.40% of families and 24.30% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, 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,

, Casey, Pulaski, Laurel, Rockcastle, Monroe, McCreary,

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay parti ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, ...

Owsley Owsley may refer to: * Owsley (surname), a surname * Owsley Stanley (1935–2011), also known as Owsley or Bear, "underground" LSD chemist and early Grateful Dead soundman, grandson of Augustus * Owsley (musician), the stage name of Will Owsley, ...

and Leslie. These counties were opposed to secession during the Civil War era, and consequently became and have remained intensely Republican ever since.Sullivan, Robert David
"How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century"
''America Magazine'' in ''The National Catholic Review''; June 29, 2016 The last Democrat to win Russell County was

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

in 1884, and the last Republican to not gain a majority was

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

in 1912 when his party was divided.

Communities

* Creelsboro * Jamestown (county seat) * Russell Springs

Notable people

* Tara Conner,

Miss Kentucky USA The Miss Kentucky USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Kentucky in the Miss USA pageant. It is currently directed by Proctor Productions and it was formerly directed by Connie Clark Harrison, Miss Ken ...

2006, Miss USA 2006 *

Vernie McGaha Vernie D. McGaha (born September 13, 1947) is an American politician and former state senator for Kentucky's south central 15th district, which includes the counties of Adair, Casey, Pulaski, and Russell. Biography McGaha is the son of Schy ...

, 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 Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late ...

, 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

External links

Russell County Industrial Development Authority

The Kentucky Highlands Project

Russell County Public Library
{{authority control Kentucky counties 1825 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1825 Counties of Appalachia