Editing Russellville, Arkansas (section)

===20th century===
[[File:Russellville AR Central Presby PHS902.jpg|thumb|Central Presbyterian Church, 1925]]
In 1906 the town suffered a massive fire in its central business district. The fire consumed nearly half of the buildings but they were quickly rebuilt, most within six months after the fire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russellville Downtown Historic District |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/795d2530-138b-450a-8ac7-7a00eaa303a5/ |website=National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=February 16, 2023 |quote=On the night of January 16, 1906 a fire destroyed nearly half of the downtown business district. The fire included both sides of Commerce Street from Main to "B" Street. Ironically, Russellville had just formed a fire department and ordered fire-fighting equipment, all of which had not arrived. The newly formed fire department, insufficiently organized, was helpless to contain the ravaging fire which, fueled by strong winds, spread to the north side of Main Street from Commerce. In less than three hours, twenty-three buildings were destroyed. The estimated loss was $250,000 of which only 40% was insured. In addition to the loss of the buildings and their stock, many of the citizens of Russellville who worked in the businesses abruptly lost their jobs. Those early businessmen of Russellville immediately set about re-building the downtown and, remarkably, within six months, twenty of the twenty-three buildings lost in the fire had been rebuilt." "As a result of the disastrous fire and the determination of the city's businessmen to rebuild, in less than two years Russellville emerged from the disaster a larger and stronger city with blocks lined with new brick business buildings.}}</ref>

What today is [[Arkansas Tech University]] (ATU) in Russellville was established in 1910 as the Second District Agricultural school—a four-year [[secondary school|high school]]. The school evolved over the years, adding 2 years of college courses in the 1920s and dropping the high school courses at the end of the 1929–1930 academic year with the school's name changed to Arkansas Polytechnic College in 1925.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Silva |first1=Rachel |title=Arkansas Listings in the National Register of Historic Places: One Hundred Years of Arkansas Tech University |journal=The Arkansas Historical Quarterly |date=2009 |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=442–450 |jstor=40543604 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40543604 |access-date=November 14, 2022 |quote=A board of trustees for the Second District Agricultural School had been appointed by September 1909 and tasked with finding a location for the school as well as the construction of school buildings, hiring of staff, and development of curriculum. In order to be considered as a site for the school, towns had to pledge at least $40,000 and 200 acres. Fort Smith, Morrilton, Ozark, and Russellville all submitted bids. Russellville's bid included $40,000, 220 acres, and free electricity and water for three years, and on February 10, 1910, the trustees announced that the Second District Agricultural School would be located there.}}</ref> Its name was changed to Arkansas Tech University in 1976.

On February 11, 1930, the Russellville City Council passed an ordinance renaming the city's streets. The ordinance established a logical order for street names and went into effect on April 1, 1930.<ref>{{cite act | type = Ordinance | index = 278 | date = February 11, 1930 | title = An Ordinance to Provide for the Re-Naming of The Streets and Re-Numbering the houses in the City of Russellville, Arkansas |url = https://pope-county-info.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Ordinance-278-February-6-1930-Re-Naming-of-Streets-and-Re-Numbering-of-Houses-PDF_201412311051022717.pdf |quote= ... the Mayor and City Council of the City of Russellville, Arkansas, are of the opinion that the present system or manner in which our streets are named and our houses numbered is inadequate, to the present and future needs of this City. }}</ref>

With America's entry into World War II, many Russellville men enlisted or were drafted into the military. Many of the local men served in the 153rd Infantry. Battery D and Battery F of the 206th Coast Artillery Regiment of the Arkansas National Guard were initially stationed at ATU. Many of the men saw service in Alaska in what is known as the Williwaw War.

After the war, the construction of Interstate 40 in 1956 sparked Russelville's growth. The highway has been a boon to the area's growth, much like the railroad was in the 1870s. A major economic boost came as a result of the completion of a dam near the Arkansas River crossing between Dardanelle and Russellville in 1965. The dam created a lake, which led to the establishment of Lake Dardanelle State Park, a major tourist attraction in the area. The completion of the lock and power dam, a part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, which brings in between $1 and $2 billion in trade to the state each year, has greatly improved the area's business prospects.
During the 1970s, the town, like so many other small American towns, witnessed the decentralization of its historic downtown area, due to the advent of large retail outlets such as Wal-Mart. Many of the historic buildings were left to decay or were torn down. Also in the 1970s, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant, [[Arkansas Nuclear One]], was built just outside the city, on Lake Dardanelle. The plant brought more people and jobs to the city.