The Russellville Democrat., 1876-07-20
RusI.ELLyILLE.

ous towns on the line of the l.. k. {, * F. $. Ky, is Russcllvilie. The town is 76 miles from Little Rock and about the same distance from Van Buren. It is three miles ! from tlIe Arkansas river and Is surrounded by good farmii ig country. The situation Is most beautiful, being a small prairie dotted all over with nice little groves of trees. The place was settled m 1881 by r. c. Holledgcr, who built the first house in the place. The house was purchased in the following year by Dr. Thos. J. Russell, and still stands in the western part of town on Main street at this day. The chimney at the east end of this house was the first stone chimney ever built in Pope county. Alex. Maddux also came here and pitched his tent in this place during the lat ter part of the year 1854. Dr. Thos. J. Russell moved here in 1885 and from him the town took it's name. He made this his home continnously-the interval of the rebellion excepted until the year 1865, the date of his death at his home in this place.
 The town improved but little until the L. R. & F. $. Ky. was completed. Since that time it has enjoyed steady growth and now has population of about 800 souls. There are fifteen stores, one tin shop, one shoe shop, one saddlery shop, two blacksmith shops, two carpenter and cabinet shops, two cotton gins, one Touring T ill and wool carding factory, two silver smiths, two hotels, one barber shop, one livery stable, one mar ket house and one saloon. The town sustai:.s a good nine months free school. Has two churches Presbyterian and Methodist Epis copal.
 Health is good, water first rate good supply of fuel both wood and stone-coal.
 The professions are well repre- sented. We have six doctors, five lawyers, one dentist. Of so cicties we have one lodge l. 0. of c. T., one lodge Masons and . fine Sunday school. The town and county sustains one news papcr--the DEMocEAT-the circu- Iation of which now numbers near one thousand and is steadily increasing.
 ATKINS.
 This is ilourishing young town located about 62 mics west of Little Rock on the l.. k. & F. $. Ky. Dirt was broken for the first building in the place by Mir. E. A. Darr, one of the representa- tive men and leading merchants of the place, in July or August 1873. He erected store and dwelling. During the same sum mer and fall the following acqui sltions were added to the town: Messrs. Emhry x Embry,- mer- chants; Whisonant & Dickey, merchants; Darr & Darr, mer- chants; Whiteslde & Whiteside, druggists; and J. NJ. Guest, mer chant. Later, Mcssrs. Mourning X Bro., merchants, and N. Holder field, now Holderield & Guest, located at Atkins. There is one church, Methodist, one school, by Rev. O. H. Tucker and lady, and Sabbath School under the di rection of the NJ. k. Church South. superintende by Rev. 0. II. Tucker. A Masonic Lodge. Odd Fellows Lodge, Lodge of l. o. G. T., q Terpsichorean League and a Base Ball Club constitute the other societies of the town. Of professional men there arc three physicians of acknowledged abil ity and skill-Drs. W hiteside, Potts and Warren. Of lawyers the town considers itself fortu- nate to have not one. Mechan- lcs five; hotels, one; livery sta bles, one; one very iiue fouring mill almost completed. The present population is about two hundre(k The town is surround ed by q very excellent country and is building up steadily. To the credit of the people who live in and around Atkins it can be claimed as a mark of their intelli- ligence, that the Atkins post office has the next to the largest club of subscribers to the DEMO GRAF of any place in the county.
 NoRRlsTowN,
 A quiet little village, situated on the northern bank of the Arkan- sas river, some 3 miles from the station of Russellvillc, on the L. R. x F. \. Ky, was settled some time about the year 1929 by Saml. Norris, of Pennsylvania, from whom the place took it's name. Norristown was the home of the gifted Edward Washburn for q number of years. Wash burns "Arkansas Traveller" has acquired a world wide fame and might have been the source of l = ...--...a An AL c.-