Incorporated on November 27, 1819, three weeks before Alabama achieved statehood, Russellville was platted around the intersection of two historic roads. Edmund Pendleton Gaines began work on the road that would bear his name on December 26, 1807. Gaines' Trace extended from Melton's Bluff, at the head of the Elk River shoals, to Cotton Gin Port on the Tombigee River in present-day Mississippi. Lawrence Street follows part of the route through town. Work on a more direct road from Nashville to New Orleans began in 1817 under Andrew Jackson's supervision. The route was called Jackson's Military Road, and Jackson Avenue as it passes through Russellville.