Throwback Thursday: Russellville’s Old Jail

This week we take a closer look at an area landmark with over 140 years of local history. The Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival is the area’s largest event of the year. And as part of the festivities, we had the chance to take the historic tour of the old jail downtown. 

Built in 1874, it sits on West 4th Street in Russellville. The front part of the jail was considered home for the jailer, with a living space and a couple bedrooms. With six holding cells in the vault, their walls were cut of thick limestone with iron rods running through each. 

At one point there were up to 80 prisoners confined in the old jail, but they did not have to stay within the confinements of cells, as they had run of the common areas as well. There was only one noted escape, through the wooden roof. A new metal ceiling with poured concrete resolved any future attempts. 

The old jail was closed to prisoners by the middle of the 20th century. By the 1970s, Russellville citizens debated whether to preserve or bulldoze the landmark. In 1980, the local genealogical society traveled to Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green to learn the method of cataloging records, as it was decided the jail would be turned into a local archive instead.

The jail is the current repository for early circuit court records and original county court record books. There are over three thousand local references cataloged in the old jail. Visitors have access to make copies of original family files and microfilm. 

The general public is welcome to visit during business hours from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The public can also tour the jail as part of the Tobacco & Heritage Festival.