Russellville is a
census-designated place in
Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States.
Located along
U.S. Route 11E-
Tennessee State Route 34 (US 11E/SR 34), it is situated approximately at a midpoint between
Whitesburg and
Morristown Morristown may refer to:
Places Canada
*Morristown, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
* Morristown, Arizona
*Morristown, Indiana
** Morristown station (Indiana)
*Morristown, Minnesota
** Morristown Township, Rice County, Minnesota
*Morris ...
.
Demographics
History
Russellville was founded by George Russell in 1784. He had been granted a large tract of land in Greene County, North Carolina.
During the
American Civil War,
Confederate Lieutenant General
James Longstreet
James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps ...
established a headquarters in the Nenney House in Russellville just after the
Battle of Bean's Station in December 1863. His Confederate army used Russellville for their winter camp of 1863-64. The house still stands and has been converted into The General Longstreet Museum.
Also during that winter, General
Lafayette McLaws
Lafayette McLaws ( ; January 15, 1821 – July 24, 1897) was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served at Antietam and Fredericksburg, where Robert E. Lee praised his defense of Marye's Heights, ...
was in quarters at a house now called "Hayslope", a house that also still stands and was originally a
tavern built by the early settlers. It was originally called the ''Tavern with the Red Door'', while General
Joseph B. Kershaw was at the nearby Taylor plantation. The nearby
Bethesda Presbyterian Church Bethesda Presbyterian Church may refer to:
* Bethesda Presbyterian Church (Edwards, Mississippi)
* Bethesda Presbyterian Church (Aberdeen, North Carolina)
* Bethesda Presbyterian Church (Houstonville, North Carolina)
* Bethesda Presbyterian Churc ...
was used as a hospital during the Civil War and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. It has many wartime burials, 80 of which are unidentified.
In the mid and early twentieth century, Russellville was a hub for production and distribution of bootleg whiskey.
As of 2020, portions of the Russellville community, including an
industrial park, have been
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
into the city limits of
Morristown Morristown may refer to:
Places Canada
*Morristown, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
* Morristown, Arizona
*Morristown, Indiana
** Morristown station (Indiana)
*Morristown, Minnesota
** Morristown Township, Rice County, Minnesota
*Morris ...
.
References
Further reading
* Emma Dean Smith Trent (1987), ''East Tennessee's Lore of Yesteryear''.
* Rebecca Dougherty Hyatt (1970), "History Around Russellville".
External links
The History of HayslopeHamblen County TNGenWeb site
Populated places established in 1784
Unincorporated communities in Hamblen County, Tennessee
Census-designated places in Tennessee
U.S. Route 11
{{HamblenCountyTN-geo-stub