The county seat has changed several times: Girard (1833–1839), Crawford originally Crockettsville (1839–1868), Seale (1868–1935) and Phenix City (1935–present).

[5] In 1954, the local politician Albert Patterson won the Democratic nomination for Alabama Attorney General on a platform of ridding the city of corruption and crime.

[4] The murder set off a series of events that led to Governor Gordon Persons declaring martial law in the county and city because of its lawlessness on July 22 that year.

That was the only time since the Reconstruction era that martial law was declared in a US city for reasons other than civil unrest or natural disaster.

The state of martial law was rescinded on January 17, 1955, with Russell County and Phenix City both returning to civilian control.

[7][8] In 1974, the New York Times noted that the campaign was very successful and led to a relatively-low crime rate in Phenix City for the 20 years since then.

[10] The county is located in the Gulf Coastal Plain region, with a few rolling hills due to its close proximity to the fall line of the eastern United States.

Russell County trends Democratic in presidential elections; having last supported a Republican in 1972 when it voted for Richard Nixon.