Built by a lake, and the people who wanted to reach it.
Russell County Airport isn't an accident of geography. It's the story of a river that became a lake, a county that saw the opportunity, and a runway that keeps southern Kentucky connected to the rest of the country.
When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed Wolf Creek Dam and impounded the Cumberland River in 1952, it created Lake Cumberland, today roughly 101 miles long with more than 1,255 miles of shoreline, one of the largest reservoirs in the United States. A quiet farming county woke up as a destination. Everything that followed, including this airport, followed the water.
How we got here.
Russell County & Jamestown
Russell County is formed in 1825, named for Revolutionary War officer Col. William Russell; Jamestown becomes the county seat a year later. Farming country, a day's ride from anywhere.
Wolf Creek Dam creates Lake Cumberland
After construction that began in 1941 and paused for World War II, the dam reaches full beneficial use in 1952. Congress names the impoundment Lake Cumberland, and the region's future tilts toward the water.
The first airfield
A small airstrip, barely 2,000 feet of pavement, appears on the sectional chart near Russell Springs, serving a handful of light aircraft. It's the county's first real link to general aviation.
The modern airport opens
The community outgrows the old strip. A new, far larger Russell County Airport opens about a mile to the southwest: a single asphalt runway, 17/35, 5,010 by 78 feet, at 1,010 feet of elevation. It's the field pilots know today as K24.
The old strip finds a second life
The retired runway a mile to the northeast is closed and, over the following years, reborn as the Lake Cumberland Dragway, which is why the AirNav page still warns pilots not to mistake the drag strip for the runway.
A working general-aviation field
K24 logs roughly 8,990 aircraft operations in a year, about 25 a day, the overwhelming majority general aviation, with a share of air-taxi and military traffic.
Still growing
Thirteen aircraft are based on the field: nine single-engine, three multi-engine, and one jet, and the airport secures a federal FAA Airport Improvement Program grant to expand hangar capacity.
From a 2,000-foot strip to a modern runway
Aviation in Russell County traces back to that mid-1950s airfield, little more than a short paved strip serving a few light aircraft. By the early 1990s the community had outgrown it. In January 1994 the new Russell County Airport opened about a mile to the southwest, and the old runway was retired. Today's field is anchored by Runway 17/35 (5,010 by 78 feet of asphalt at roughly 1,010 feet MSL) equipped with pilot-activated edge lighting, PAPI, and runway-end identifier lights on both ends.
Owned by the community, built for growth
The airport is a public asset, owned and operated by the seven-member Russell County Airport Board, which meets monthly at the field. Alongside county government, the Russell County Industrial Development Authority treats the airport as strategic infrastructure: it sits about 2.5 miles from the Lake Cumberland Regional Industrial Complex and minutes from downtown Jamestown and Russell Springs, supporting the corporate and industrial travel that helps the local economy grow.
A working airport today
Russell County Airport keeps southern Kentucky connected. 100LL and Jet-A are available around the clock at the self-service pump, with tie-downs, hangars, and repair facilities on the field, plus two courtesy cars for the run into town. For business travelers, lake-bound visitors, and local pilots alike, K24 remains the region's front door from the sky.
The people who run the field
Russell County Airport is a public asset, governed by a volunteer Airport Board and kept running by a dedicated maintenance team. Meets the 1st Tuesday of every month at 5:00 PM at the airport.
Have a photo, a date, or a story from the airport's early days? The board would love to fill in the record, so get in touch. Historical details compiled from FAA/AirNav records, USACE, and public county sources.
Be part of the next chapter.
Fly in for the lake, base your aircraft here, or bring your business to Russell County. The field is ready when you are.