Russell
Fossil Creek Station was established
as a point to load rock used for construction along the Kansas
Pacific rail line in 1867. It was named for a nearby creek. A
depot was built, along with dugouts for the workers.
A group of people in Ripon, Wisconsin,
established a colony on January 17, 1871, for the purpose of emigrating
to Kansas. A small contingent of three men cam to Kansas in February
and decided that the area around Fossil Creek Station would be
a suitable place to settle; they sent for their fellow colonists
who arrived at Fossil Creek Station on April 19, 1871. An election
was held on May 2 to decide the name of the colony and Russell
was the name picked by the majority of the settlers.
The Rip on Colony, also known as the
Northwestern Colony, organized a town site company called the
Northwestern Company. This company organized the Russell town
site on June 13, 1871. It was officially named the county seat
by the governor in 1872, but Bunker Hill also wanted the county
seat. After a year and a half of legal maneuvering, an election
was held in which Russell was declared the county seat in March
1874.
The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.
Sources
Bowman, Larry G. "Russell
County Settlement and Economic Development." M. A. Thesis,
Fort Hays Kansas State Teachers College, 1959.
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