Editing Russell, Kentucky (section)

==History==
The hilly site near the confluence of White Oak Creek and the Ohio was chosen by pioneer [[Jeff Moore (pioneer)|Jeff Moore]] in 1823 in order to provide protection for his camp against attacks by local [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] tribes.<ref>City of Russell. [http://www.cityofrussell.net/ Official site]. Accessed 21 April 2010.</ref>{{dubious|date=September 2013}} In 1829, James E. McDowell, William Lindsay Poage, and his brother erected an [[iron furnace]]; they named the foundry and the community that grew up around it "Amanda&nbsp;Furnace" after William's infant daughter. The furnace ceased operation in 1861.<ref>Rennick, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3Lac2FUSj_oC&pg=PA6 p. 6]. Accessed 29 September 2013.</ref>

[[John Russell (developer)|John Russell]] and his [[Means and Russell Iron Company]] purchased the land of the present city beside Amanda Hill from the Poage brothers.<ref name=ren/> They laid out and established the town of Riverview in 1869<ref name=sos/> in expectation of an expansion of the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (1868–1878)|Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad]] westward from [[Huntington, West Virginia]], to [[Cincinnati, Ohio]]. Ferry service to Ohio began in 1870,<ref name=kenky/> local landowners agreed to rename the community after its founder in 1873,<ref name=ren>Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=3Lac2FUSj_oC&pg=PA258 pp. 258–259]. University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed 29 September 2013.</ref> and the city was formally incorporated under the name "Russell" in 1874.<ref name=sos>Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "Russell, Kentucky". Accessed 26 August 2013.</ref> The expected C&O spur did not arrive until 1889 but, when it did, it constructed a railyard, roundhouse, and shops and the city grew quickly. The city celebrates this influence with the annual "Russell Railroad Days" each August.<ref name=kenky/>

Numerous disasters limited the city's growth. The Ohio River flooded the city in 1884, [[smallpox]] struck in 1901, and a fire consumed downtown and the city hall in 1903. In 1905, it was still the largest city in [[Greenup County, Kentucky|Greenup County]], but the Ohio flooded again in 1913 and 1937. The 1937 flood affected all but 30 homes, and over 500 people were forced to shelter in C&O boxcars and cabooses until the waters receded. Despite the completion of a bridge to Ironton in 1922 and a [[floodwall]] in 1950, Russell was no longer the county's largest municipality by the mid-1950s.<ref name=kenky>''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=8eFSK4o--M0C&pg=PA789 p. 789]. "Russell". University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1992. Accessed 29 September 2013.</ref>

The [[Fortune 500]] company [[Ashland Oil]] relocated its headquarters to Russell in 1974,<ref name=kenky/> but moved to the [[Cincinnati]] suburb of [[Covington, Kentucky|Covington]] in 1999.