Russiaville () is a town in Honey Creek Township, Howard County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Russiaville had a population of 1,319. It is part of the Kokomo Metropolitan Statistical Area. Russiaville was incorporated sometime between the 1860 and 1870 US Census.

Etymology

The town was named for Jean Baptiste de Richardville (whose father's surname was Richerville), a Miami chief of French-Miami descent who had relations with the United States government in treaty making in the early nineteenth century. Through the French pronunciation of "Ri-shar-ville," the name was gradually changed to the current spelling; it has been pronounced "Roo-sha-ville" through much of its history.

The apparent association with Russia led to the town high school's naming its athletic teams the “Cossacks” until 1949, when county consolidation changed Russiaville High School to Western High School. Some theorize that during the Cold War, residents consciously changed the pronunciation of Russiaville's name in order to disconnect their town from Russia, the leading state of the Soviet Union, however, the pronunciation, Roo-sha-ville precedes the Cold War by many years. A map from the 1840s to the 1850s in the Quaker Collection of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, shows a county named Richardville, and a town Richardville, at the site of present-day Russiaville. Some local history has suggested "Rouchardville" as the earlier spelling.

History

Russiaville was laid out in 1845.

Russiaville became a Quaker settlement in the years before the Civil War. They created a stop on the Underground Railroad for fugitive slaves in the antebellum years in nearby New London, then the site of the Friends Meeting serving the entire area. A local legend tells that the stop included a tunnel under New London from a safe house to a cave in the hollow of Honey Creek, near the location of the Friends Meetinghouse.

Russiaville is the birthplace of Jonathan Dixon Maxwell (September 3, 1864), builder of the Maxwell automobile. He is buried there.

Almost all of the town was destroyed by an F4 tornado on April 11, 1965, which was part of the Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak. After rebuilding, the town had a population of 1,094 at the 2010 census.

In 1985, Ryan White was an American teenager going to the Western School District's Middle School, who was denied re-admittance to school following an AIDS diagnosis. The school district faced pressure from many parents and faculty to ban Ryan White from the campus after his diagnosis of HIV became known. The case, and local families' treatment of the White family, became a focal point in the public debate around funding for HIV treatment and public perception, eventually leading to the Ryan White CARE Act. The act provides funding to improve availability of care for low-income, uninsured and under-insured victims of AIDS and their families.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Russiaville has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Russiaville had a population of 1,319. The median age was 35.3 years. 29.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.3 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 481 households in Russiaville, of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.3% were married-couple households, 14.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2010, there were 1,094 people, 434 households, and 307 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 486 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.6% White, 0.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

There were 434 households, of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.3% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 people and the average family size was 3.06 people.

The median age in the town was 37.1 years. 27.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.8% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census

Movies filmed in Russiaville

  • The Ryan White Story (1988), starring Judith Light and Lukas Haas

Government

Town Council Members include:

Jeff Lipinski, President

Don Parvin, Vice President

Pat Reel, Council Member

Greg Landrum, Council Member

Myrna Claar, Council Member Karen Smith

Corbin King, Town Attorney

Megan Reel, Town Clerk/Treasurer

See also

  • Russiaville Interurban Depot — listed on the National Register of Historic Places

References

  • Western School Corporation
  • Howard County Community Net
  • https://www.townofrussiaville.com/
  • Russiaville, Indiana Reddit