Russell is a city in Russell County, Kansas, United States. The population was 4,696 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Russell County.[3]
History
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 state 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.[4] 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.[5][6] In 1876, Volga Germans, mostly from the area around Saratov and Samara in Russia, began settling in and around Russell.[7]
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.[8]
Geography
Russell is located at 38°53′23″N 98°51′26″W / 38.88972°N 98.85722°W / 38.88972; -98.85722 (38.889807, -98.857113)[9] between the Smoky Hill and Saline Rivers in the Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas. Fossil Creek, a tributary of the Smoky Hill River, passes immediately south of the town where it has been dammed to form a small reservoir, Fossil Lake.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²), all of it land.
Climate
Russell has four distinct seasons, and temperatures often range into the teens below zero F. in the winter to 110 °F. in the summer. The city is located on the eastern edge of Kansas's semi-arid steppe climate, and precipitation is sometimes scarce. Russell generally receives less snowfall in the winter than areas to the west or east, since the area is far enough removed from the Rocky Mountains and the flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
| Weather data for Russell, Kansas, USA |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Record high °F (°C) |
84
(29) |
85
(29) |
91
(33) |
101
(38) |
102
(39) |
114
(46) |
111
(44) |
109
(43) |
108
(42) |
96
(36) |
86
(30) |
75
(24) |
| Average high °F (°C) |
40
(4) |
46
(8) |
56
(13) |
66
(19) |
75
(24) |
87
(31) |
93
(34) |
90
(32) |
81
(27) |
69
(21) |
53
(12) |
43
(6) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
16
(-9) |
21
(-6) |
30
(-1) |
40
(4) |
51
(11) |
61
(16) |
67
(19) |
65
(18) |
56
(13) |
43
(6) |
29
(-2) |
20
(-7) |
| Record low °F (°C) |
-20
(-29) |
-20
(-29) |
-16
(-27) |
12
(-11) |
25
(-4) |
39
(4) |
45
(7) |
45
(7) |
28
(-2) |
13
(-11) |
-5
(-21) |
-24
(-31) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) |
0.68
(17.3) |
0.78
(19.8) |
2.32
(58.9) |
2.87
(72.9) |
4.02
(102.1) |
2.99
(75.9) |
3.60
(91.4) |
3.34
(84.8) |
1.95
(49.5) |
1.52
(38.6) |
1.32
(33.5) |
0.86
(21.8) |
| Source: The Weather Channel[10] 6 Nov 2009 |
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1880 |
861 |
|
—
|
| 1890 |
961 |
|
11.6% |
| 1900 |
1,143 |
|
18.9% |
| 1910 |
1,692 |
|
48.0% |
| 1920 |
1,700 |
|
0.5% |
| 1930 |
2,352 |
|
38.4% |
| 1940 |
4,819 |
|
104.9% |
| 1950 |
6,483 |
|
34.5% |
| 1960 |
6,113 |
|
−5.7% |
| 1970 |
5,371 |
|
−12.1% |
| 1980 |
5,427 |
|
1.0% |
| 1990 |
4,781 |
|
−11.9% |
| 2000 |
4,696 |
|
−1.8% |
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 4,696 people, 2,057 households, and 1,250 families residing in the city. The population density was 956.9 people per square mile (369.3/km²). There were 2,436 housing units at an average density of 496.4/sq mi (191.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.13% White, 0.96% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population.
There were 2,057 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,217, and the median income for a family was $37,813. Males had a median income of $25,109 versus $17,757 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,690. About 11.3% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The economy of Russell is based primarily on agriculture with wheat gluten and ethanol manufacturing facilities located in the local industrial park. Russell County is also one of the leading oil producing counties in Kansas.[5]
Education
Russell is the base of operations of Unified School District 407, which services all of Russell County except for the far northwestern portion and parts of the town of Dorrance.
The city of Russell has four schools: Simpson Elementary School (Grades K–2), Bickerdyke Elementary School (3–5), Ruppenthal Middle School (6–8) and Russell High School (9–12). The building housing Ruppenthal Middle School was built in 1938 as Russell High School and became the middle school building in the fall of 1961, when Russell High moved to a new complex at 565 E. State St., just east of U.S. 281. Both the Simpson and Bickerdyke buildings opened in the fall of 1952.
The Russell High School (RHS) Broncos sponsor seven sports for boys (football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, wrestling, and track and field) and six for girls (volleyball, basketball, fast-pitch softball, golf, tennis, and track and field). The RHS boys' basketball team won state championships in 1949, 1952, 1953, 1956, and 1963 under legendary coach Amos Morris, who is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame. The gymnasium at RHS is named for Morris. The school added another boys' basketball state title in 1979, and that fall, the RHS football team reached the finals of the Class 4A state playoffs, losing to Maur Hill Mount Academy of Atchison.
From the 1940s through the early 1970s, Russell's biggest rivalries were with the public high schools in Hays, Hoisington, and Great Bend, and Thomas More Prep-Marian, the Roman Catholic high school in Hays. In 1972, the West Central Kansas League was split, with the larger schools in Hays and Great Bend forming what is now the Western Athletic Conference, and the smaller schools forming the Mid-State Activities Association. Russell currently competes in the North Central Activities Association.
Shaffer Field, home to the RHS football team, hosted the KSHSAA 8-man football state championships in 1983–1989 and again in 2002–2005.
The Russell Public Library was opened in a Main Street building on March 1, 1901, with donated books and furnishings. In May 1907, a Carnegie library opened with a $5,000 Carnegie grant. A children's room was added in 1947. A current library was dedicated October 26, 1962.
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. A U.S. 40 business route 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.
Russell Municipal Airport is located off the U.S. 40 business route southeast of the town.[11]
Union Pacific Railroad operates rail via the former Kansas Pacific track that runs east-west through Russell.[4][5]
Media
Russell has one daily newspaper, The Russell Daily News, and one weekly newspaper, The Russell Record.[12][13]
Radio station KRSL broadcasts from Russell on both 990 AM and 95.9 FM, playing a Classic hits format.[14]
KAKE-TV, the ABC affiliate in Wichita, Kansas, operates a translator station (K38GH) in Russell which broadcasts on analog channel 38.[15]
Notable natives
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b "The Early History of Russell County". Russell County Historical Society. http://www.rwisp.com/~rchs/history/history.html. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ a b c "The City of Russell, Kansas". City of Russell. http://www.russellcity.org/html/about_russell.html. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ Blackmar, Frank W., ed. (1912), "Russell County", Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc., 2, Chicago: Standard, pp. 613–615, http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/r/russell_county.html
- ^ "Volga Germans". Kansas Trails. http://genealogytrails.com/kan/russell/VolgaGermans.html. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ "Senators". Russell County Historical Society. http://www.rwisp.com/~rchs/Senators/senators.html. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Average weather for Russell". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USKS0515?from=36hr_bottomnav_business. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Russell, Kansas". City-Data.com. http://www.city-data.com/city/Russell-Kansas.html. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ "About this newspaper: Russell daily news". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015074/. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ "About this newspaper: The Russell record". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85029783/. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/station_information.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ "TVQ TV Database Query". Federal Communications Commission. http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
External links
