Russell, Kansas

Russell is the most populous city in and the county seat of Russell County, Kansas, United States.

History

thumb|left|1915 Railroad Map of Russell County

In 1865, the Butterfield Overland Despatch established a short-lived station named Fossil Creek Station along its route from Atchison, Kansas to Denver near the site of modern Russell. In 1867, the Kansas Pacific Railway reached the area and built its own station, also named Fossil Creek, later just Fossil, north of the Butterfield station. That same year, the Kansas Legislature established the surrounding area as Russell County. In 1871, colonists from Ripon, Wisconsin established a permanent settlement at Fossil Station, renaming it Russell after the county. Russell was incorporated and named the provisional county seat in 1872, and, after a two-year dispute with neighboring Bunker Hill, it became the permanent county seat in 1874. In 1876, Volga Germans, mostly from the area around Saratov and Samara in Russia, began settling in and around Russell.

The first discovery oil well in Russell County was drilled west of Russell in 1923. An oil boom ensued and lasted through the 1930s, attracting settlers from Oklahoma and Texas. Petroleum production became a staple of the local economy.

Russell came to national attention in the mid-1990s as the hometown of U.S. Senators Bob Dole and Arlen Specter when both men campaigned for the U.S. presidency. Dole was born and raised in Russell, and it remained his official place of residence throughout his political career.

Geography

Russell is located in north-central Kansas at the intersection of Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 281, Russell is approximately northwest of Wichita, west of Kansas City, and east-southeast of Denver.

The city lies in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains approximately south of the Saline River and north of the Smoky Hill River. Fossil Creek, a tributary of the Smoky Hill River, passes immediately south of the city where it has been dammed to form a small reservoir, Fossil Lake.

Climate

Russell has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters. On average, January is the coldest month, and July is both the hottest month and the wettest month.

|source 2 = National Weather Service

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Russell had a population of 4,401. The median age was 42.9 years. 23.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.7 males age 18 and over.

92.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 7.6% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,930 households in Russell, of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.3% were married-couple households, 21.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 2,041 households, of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16, and the average family size was 2.79. As of 2012, the median home value in the city was $63,200, the median selected monthly owner cost was $935 for housing units with a mortgage and $412 for those without, and the median gross rent was $657. The Center opened in 1990 with the Deines family's donation of its building, the Deines engravings, and a cash endowment to the city of Russell.

Ad Astra Music Festival

In the month of July, Russell hosts the Ad Astra Music Festival, a concert series featuring student and professional artists from all over the United States and the world. Music performed ranges from classical to contemporary compositions and jazz. The festival was started in 2015.

Events

The city hosts the annual Russell County Free Fair during the last week of July. Sponsored by local businesses and organizations, the Fair includes a 4-H livestock sale, carnival, live music, and other entertainment. Other annual events include the annual Blarney Stone Hunt, the Independence Day Freedom Fireworks Celebration, Bricks, Broncs & BBQ and Flatland Car & Cycle Show the first weekend in October, the Lighted Christmas Parade, and Weihnachtsfest, a Christmas festival held the second Saturday in December for over 25 years.

Every ten years since 1941, Russell has held Prairiesta, a festival commemorating the city's foundation and celebrating its heritage. Held in June, the festival includes a parade, carnival rides, live music, arts and crafts exhibits, and a historical pageant.

Points of interest

The Fossil Station Museum, also located in downtown Russell, displays artifacts from Russell County history dating back to the mid-1800s. Home to the Russell County Historical Society, the museum is housed in the former sheriff's office and county jail, a fortress-like structure constructed of native “post rock” limestone in 1907.

The Russell County Historical Society has restored and maintains two examples of early limestone homes built in Russell, the Gernon House and the Heym-Oliver House. The Gernon House was built in 1872 by blacksmith Nicholas Gernon, one of the town's original settlers, and doubled as a smithery. The Heym-Oliver House was built by settler Nicholas Heym in 1878.

The Oil Patch Museum, located just north of I-70 Exit 184, houses exhibits on area geology and the history of local petroleum drilling, production, and transportation.

Libraries

The Russell Public Library, located downtown on West Wisconsin (6th) Street, is the city's main library. A member of the Central Kansas Library System, it has a collection of more than 32,000 volumes. The library opened in 1901 and expanded into a Carnegie library in 1907, finally moving to its current facility in 1962.

Parks and recreation

The city government's Park Department maintains seven parks in the city. The largest is Memorial Park, located on the north side of the U.S. 40 business route in the far eastern part of the city. It includes baseball fields, tennis courts, a skateboard park, a play park, a frisbee golf course, and Russell Municipal Golf Course. The municipal course is a 9-hole, regulation length course that opened in 1952. In addition, the city government operates a municipal swimming pool next to Memorial Park.

Government

Russell is a city of the second class with a council-mayor-manager form of government. The city council consists of eight members, two elected for each city ward. The council sets policies and approves the city budget, meeting on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. in the City Council Room at the City Hall.

Russell lies within Kansas's 1st U.S. Congressional District, represented by Tracey Mann (R-Salina). For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature, the city is located in the 36th district of the Kansas Senate, represented by Sen. Elaine Bowers (R-Concordia) and the 109th district of the Kansas House of Representatives, represented by Rep. Troy Waymaster (R-Bunker Hill).

Russell High School (9-12)
Ruppenthal Middle School (6-8)
Bickerdyke Elementary School (2-5)
Simpson Elementary School (K-1)

Media

The Russell County News is the local newspaper, published weekly on Thursdays. It was a daily newspaper until 2000, then was a twice-weekly newspaper from 2001 to 2015.

Three radio stations broadcast from Russell. KRSL broadcasts on 990 AM, playing a Classic Country format. Its sister station KRSL-FM broadcasts on 95.9 FM, playing a Classic Hits format. KCCV-FM, a Christian station in Overland Park, Kansas, operates a translator station in Russell which broadcasts on 95.1 FM.

Russell is in the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas television market. KAKE, the ABC affiliate in Wichita, operates a translator station (K38GH) in Russell which broadcasts on analog channel 38. KBSH-DT, KOCW, and KSNC, the respective satellite stations of the CBS, Fox, and NBC affiliates in Wichita, are located in neighboring counties, placing Russell within their broadcast radius. Smoky Hills Public Television, the PBS affiliate for western Kansas, has its headquarters in nearby Bunker Hill.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 40 run concurrently east–west immediately south of Russell, intersecting U.S. Route 281, which runs north–south through the town, at Exit 184. U.S. Route 40 Business follows U.S. 281 north 1.5 miles to its intersection with the old alignment of U.S. 40, which runs east–west through Russell. The business route then follows the old alignment east, ending at its intersection with I-70 at exit 189.

Union Pacific Railroad operates one freight rail line, the Kansas Pacific (KP) Line, through Russell. It runs east–west through the city.

Utilities

Electricity production and distribution, recycling and trash removal, waste water management, and water production and distribution are all provided by separate departments of the city government. Eagle Communication and Rural Telephone provide landline telephone service; Eagle Communication and Nex-Tech offer cable television and internet access. Most residents use natural gas for heating fuel; service is provided by Kansas Gas Service.