 Most 19th century residents of the area farmed for a living or, with the coming of the railroad, harvested timber.By the end of the century, Russellville and the surrounding area had become a prosperous coal-mining area, with the Quita Coal Company being the first established.Other coal companies followed with deep mine shafts sunk north and south of town, which, by the 1950s, had given way to strip mining.