Russellville is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

Hamblen County, Tennessee Hamblen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,499. Its county seat and only incorporated city is Morristown. Hamblen County is the core county of the Morristown, Tennessee Met ...

. Located along U.S. Route 11E-

Tennessee State Route 34 State Route 34 (SR 34) is an unsigned state highway located in East Tennessee. The route traverses several cities through eight counties from the Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville area to the North Carolina state line via Greeneville, Tennessee, ...

(US 11E/SR 34), it is situated approximately at a midpoint between Whitesburg and Morristown.

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 The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Lieutenant General

James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War and was the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Ho ...

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 was in quarters at a house now called "Hayslope", a house that also still stands and was originally a

tavern A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

built by the early settlers. It was originally called the ''Tavern with the Red Door'', while General

Joseph B. Kershaw Joseph Brevard Kershaw (January 5, 1822 – April 13, 1894) was an American planter and slaveholder from South Carolina. He was also a lawyer, judge, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. Early life Kershaw was born on January 5 ...

was at the nearby Taylor plantation. The nearby Bethesda Presbyterian Church was used as a hospital during the Civil War and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. 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. Depending on the reference, Edward R. Talley was born on either September 6 or 8, 1890 in Russellville. He joined the United States Army from Russellville and, after completing recruit training, was sent to France where he distinguished himself in action near Ponchaux, France. He was a Sergeant, in Company L, 117th Infantry, 30th Division when he was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for his actions on October 7, 1918. Talley died December 14, 1950, and is buried at Bent Creek Cemetery in Whitesburg, Tennessee. As of 2020, portions of the Russellville community, including an

industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

, have been

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

into the city limits of Morristown.

References

External links

The History of Hayslope

Hamblen 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

Demographics

History

References

Further reading

External links