November 27, 1819

After serving with Gen. Andrew Jackson in the Creek War of 1813-14, Maj. William Russell settled in what became known as Russell’s Valley in 1815 before later becoming Russellville. After the war, Jackson advocated for the construction of a federal military road through the area to New Orleans for national defense. Russellville arose along this route and was officially incorporated by the Alabama Legislature on Nov. 27, 1819. The following year, Russellville was chosen as the county seat of Franklin County; it lost this status in 1849, when the more centrally located Frankfort was chosen. Russellville was once again designated the county seat in 1891, after a portion of the existing county was carved out to form Colbert County, thus making Russellville the most centrally located city again.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Map of Georgia and Alabama, 1839. (David H. Burr, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division)

Gravesite of Maj. William Russell, Franklin County. (Photograph by Deborah Ewald, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42272129/william-russell/photo)

The old Franklin County courthouse in Russellville was completed in 1893, after a suspicious fire destroyed the original courthouse in Belgreen in 1890. This new structure was lost to a fire in 1953 and replaced with the current courthouse in 1955. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, photo courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History)

View along Jackson Avenue in Russellville, 2018. (Brian Stansberry, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.