Russell County, Kentucky
Russell 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 after | 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 (2024) | 18,458 |
| • Density | 64/sq mi (25/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | www |
Russell County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,991. Its county seat is Jamestown and its largest city is Russell Springs. The county was formed on December 14, 1825, from portions of Adair, Cumberland and Wayne Counties and is named for William Russell.
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.
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.