1815History
Between 1815 and 1828, the area was within a Cherokee reservation.
1820Education
While formal education came to the Russellville area early with the founding of nearby Dwight Mission in 1820, most early schools were either private or by subscription.
1828Government
Under a new treaty concluded on May 6, 1828, the western boundary of Arkansas was established, with seven million acres west of Arkansas in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahom...
1834History
Holledger in 1834 and purchased the next year by Dr.
1841Government
Incorporation prompted a debate on moving the county seat, located in Dover since 1841, to one of two growing business centers adjacent to the new tracks.
1842History
However, Russellville was actually named about 1842 when Jacob was a teen.
1852Government
In 1852, with a cash capital of $500, Benjamin's son, Jacob Shinn established one of the first general stores—just down the road from the log home of Thomas Russell—in an 18 by ...
1854Government
A post office was established as early as the early 1840s based on request for mail route proposals and certainly by 1854.
1862Military
Local men served in the state forces early in the war, with many transferring to Confederate regiments by 1862.
1865Military
While the war came to an official end in 1865, peace did not immediately return to the area.
1870Government
Russellville's first newspaper, the Herald, was founded in 1870.
1873History
An act to move the county seat passed in the General Assembly in 1873 but was repealed during a special session of the General Assembly in 1874.
1876Architecture
Shinn replaced the wood structure store with a masonry structure, a building completed in 1876 and which, still standing today, is known as the Shinn Building.
1878History
The question on moving the county seat had also gone to the voters nearly a decade earlier on September 2, 1878, but the results were overturned in the courts.
1887Civil Rights
On March 19, 1887, an election was held on whether to move the county seat to Russellville or to Atkins.
1890History
By 1890, about 400 students attended in 10 grades, and in 1893, the first class to attend through 12 grades graduated.
1906Disaster
=== 20th century ===
In 1906, the town suffered a massive fire in its central business district.
1909Government
== Education ==
Russellville is home to Arkansas Tech University, which was founded in 1909 and as of 2014 had 12,003 students.
1910Government
What today is Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in Russellville was established in 1910 as the Second District Agricultural School—a four-year high school.
1929Education
The school evolved over the years, adding two years of college courses in the 1920s and dropping the high school courses at the end of the 1929–1930 academic year with the schoo...
1930History
On February 11, 1930, the Russellville City Council passed an ordinance renaming the city's streets.
1956Military
After the war, the construction of Interstate 40 in 1956 sparked Russelville's growth.
1965Infrastructure
A major economic boost came as a result of the completion of a dam near the Arkansas River crossing between Dardanelle and Russellville in 1965.
1976Education
Its name was changed to Arkansas Tech University in 1976.
2010History
=== 2010 census ===
As of the 2010 Census, 27,920 people, 10,318 households, and 6,383 families lived in the city.
2011Economy
Russellville power plant Arkansas Nuclear One was featured in a 2011 episode of Aerial America on the Smithsonian Channel.
2012Culture
Balloons over Russellville is a hot-air balloon festival taking place at the Russellville Soccer Complex the first weekend of May annually since 2012.
2013History
== In popular culture ==
In 2013, Russellville was chosen as one of the filming locations for the independent Christian film Cowboys and Jesus.
2020History
== Demographics ==
=== 2020 census ===
As of the 2020 United States census, 28,940 people, 10,184 households, and 5,858 families resided in the city.
2024History
=== 2024 solar eclipse ===
Russellville was listed in the top ten places to see the eclipse by Astronomy magazine in 2021.
2025History
Russellville is the county seat of and the largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a 2025 estimated population of 30,971.