Hanging Out In Downtown Russellville, Arkansas

I like Russellville, Arkansas. It's a small town in America with cool architecture and wonderful history. Downtown, there are lots of things to do including city-sponsored events: art walks, holiday celebrations, and live concerts on the stage near the train depot. I hang out in various restaurants and chat with friends. We tell stories of local history while sitting in the restaurants where that history actually took place and the stories include people we know. Let me tell you it can get pretty funny at times. When the weather is nice, downtown is a great place to walk and get my daily steps. Of course, everyone who knows me isn't surprised that I insert a song here. I love how Petula Clark describes Downtown in her 1964 number on hit.

The image below is what you see on a typical weekday in downtown Russellville. Those of us who are Russellville natives know this eight-block area is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Most of its development was between 1875 and 1930 and includes the biggest concentration of commercial architecture for that time period. There are a total of 34 buildings. Most of them are brick, one or two stories in height in a variety of styles.

Downtown Russellville, Arkansas courtesy of HTW

The district is roughly bounded by Arkansas Avenue and West 2nd Streets, El Paso Avenue, and the Missouri-Pacific Railroad tracks.

Can you imagine if downtown Russellville, Arkansas wasn't here? What if Highway 64 still ran east and west and Arkansas Avenue still ran north and south, but there are no buildings, sidewalks, stoplights, streetlights, flags, or Main Street Mission events, and no cars lined up in front of buildings, and no pedestrians walking about. What a dismal thought.

At one time in 1906, downtown Russellville wasn't there, or at least a "goodly" part of it wasn't. A fire blew through three city blocks destroying 22 buildings and 23 businesses. It wasn't imagined. It was real. Many articles, photos, and websites have recorded what happened. For those interested in reading about it, there is an article in our local ABOUT The River Valley magazine that gives a great description.

Is this how you imagined downtown Russellville not being here, I didn't. When I was asked to imagine this, my vision was that the four-lane highway was there with green grass, bushes, and trees on each side, but otherwise bare. It made me sad to even think that Russellville was gone.

I've driven through downtown Russellville many times since my family moved here in 1965. Even though we spent the first 14 years of my life living the military life, we're from this area. Heck, my mom was born here and I was born here both at Saint Mary's Hospital. This city is important to me. I have deep-rooted ancestral connections. They go all the way back to when the river valley area was being settled before 1820. My ancestors were here when Russellville was incorporated on June 7, 1870, shortly after the Civil War. Yes, I have documentation.

A little background. Why did this area attract settlers? It's a beautiful area snuggled between mountains with lots of timber, land for farming, and easy access to water for travelers and traders. The city of Russellville was founded in the 1830s. Its growth was fueled by the growing coal and cotton industries of the area as was the growth of the city of Dover which became the county seat in 1840.

After the Civil War during the reconstruction period, the population of Russellville grew due to the building of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad. On March 19, 1887, citizens voted to make Russellville the county seat of Pope County, taking over that spot from Dover. This was an economic decision by the people. You can read more about this at one of my favorite Arkansas History websites, the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. The city grew quickly and soon became the economic hub of Pope County and Yell County. People came here for groceries, clothing, furniture, haircuts, medicine, etc. Cattle, hog, and agriculture industries were flourishing. Farmers sold and traded cotton from wagons on the street. The railroad was invaluable as a means for shipping these goods. The first coal mine established in the area was the Ouita Coal Company.

Some info about my grandparents: I got the picture on the left from my grandmother, Artie Brown, whose father and brother worked for the Ouita Coal Company.

On the back of the picture, she wrote Allen Harvey Brown (her father and my great grandfather) and James Willie Brown (her brother and my uncle). They lived on Mr. Wheeler's farm on Wheeler Bend Road north of Russellville. This was 1917. Allen died there in 1918 after a short illness from the bird flu.

For all who enjoy hiking or biking, there is a trail named after the Ouita Coal Mining Company north of Russellville that includes beautiful views of the Illinois Bayou section of Lake Dardanelle.

My grandfather, Bill Reed, worked at the Bernice Anthracite Coal Mines which were located about one mile south of Russellville.

The article above describes the mine explosion and fire in which my grandfather was badly burned along with his friend, Red McClannahan.

I remember that my grandfather always wore long-sleeved shirts. Growing up no one ever mentioned that he had been in a coal mine explosion. I learned about it after I started my ancestry research and my mom was telling me stories of her family. I figured that since this had happened in a Russellville coal mine maybe it made the news. I went to our local library and found the newspaper article dated September 13, 1935.

By the way, you ought to visit the library. You might find out things about your family that you didn't know.

Back to the 1906 fire, while still grieving, the citizens didn't let this tragic event consume them. Within six months they rebuilt their city using brick instead of wood and added a much-needed fire department. Since that time of rebuilding, a lot has changed with regard to the central location of businesses. Many moved from the downtown area to the outskirts including grocery stores, furniture stores, pharmacies, and clothing stores. What remains are many historic structures and some modern ones housing eclectic and unique boutiques, galleries, bookstores, and music stores along with traditional businesses and restaurants. The largest structure in the downtown area is the Pope County Courthouse built in 1930 replacing one that had been there since 1888.

Though it no longer is, at one time the train depot was a hub for travelers.

I remember in the 1970s and 1980s how downtown Russellville seemed almost dead. The buildings stayed empty a lot of the time. There were metered parallel parking slots with few cars. Buildings that included drug stores, attorney's offices, jewelry stores, restaurants, barber shops, a pool hall, hardware stores, a beauty college, music stores, a furniture store, churches, and banks were seemingly not doing very much business. Many people talked about the emptiness and eventually, a group got together to do something about it.

In 1980 an organization called Main Street America was founded and from that organization, smaller divisions like Main Street Arkansas and our own Main Street Russellville formed. Check out their website or follow them on Facebook for information about who they are and what they do. Because of them, downtown Russellville was revitalized. Today, there are churches, restaurants, retail stores, a revamped train depot, an outdoor stage, and small businesses in historic downtown Russellville. It is much like other historic districts across the United States where "countless volunteers and community leaders are dedicating themselves to preserving their community cores and ensuring that their downtowns are vibrant gathering places" MSA.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation: "Old places are where our lives, memories, and stories began. They connect us to the past, anchor us to the present, and lead us into the future." The National Trust for Historic Preservation was established over 70 years ago by "people who believe we should save our historical places for ourselves, each other, and the future."

From Main Street Russellville's website: "Why Downtowns Matter - Downtowns are irrefutable contributors to, or detractors from, a city’s “quality of life”. As a city symbol, as a working and living place, as a cultural amenity, downtowns continue to embody the community’s sense of itself. That’s why all across the country, communities are preserving, restoring and celebrating their downtowns."

Today, downtown Russellville has four lanes of traffic with angled parking filled with vehicles and lots of folks interacting with the businesses. There are flowers, benches, and street lights. Buildings have been restored and modernized in keeping with historic guidelines. Though I do enjoy shopping here, my biggest draw is the restaurants and entertainment events. I love meeting my friends and family downtown to rehash memories, reminisce about good times, and relax. We might even gossip a bit.

I can't imagine it not being here.

Jo