Russell County, Kansas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Russell County
County
Russell County Courthouse in Russell (2013)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 26, 1867
Named for	Avra P. Russell
Seat	Russell
Largest city	Russell
Area
• Total	899 sq mi (2,330 km2)
• Land	886 sq mi (2,290 km2)
• Water	13 sq mi (30 km2)  1.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	6,691
• Density	7.4/sq mi (2.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Russell County is a place in the state of Kansas, United States. It's like a big neighborhood with its own government. The main city and where the county government is located is called Russell. In 2020, about 6,691 people lived here. The county was named after a person called Avra Russell. A famous politician, Bob Dole, who was a leader in the U.S. Senate, lived in the city of Russell for many years.

History of Russell County

Early Times

For thousands of years, the Great Plains of North America were home to nomadic Native American groups. This means they moved around a lot instead of staying in one place.

From the 1500s to the 1700s, the country of France said they owned large parts of North America. But in 1762, after a war, France secretly gave this land to Spain.

The 1800s

In 1802, Spain gave most of the land back to France. Then, in 1803, the United States bought a huge area of land from France. This was called the Louisiana Purchase. Most of what is now Kansas was part of this big purchase.

In 1854, the area became the Kansas Territory. Then, in 1861, Kansas officially became the 34th U.S. state. Russell County itself was created in 1867.

Geography of Russell County

Russell County covers a total area of about 899 square miles (2,328 square kilometers). Most of this is land (886 sq mi or 2,295 sq km), and a small part is water (13 sq mi or 34 sq km).

Neighboring Counties

Russell County shares borders with these other counties:

• Osborne County to the north
• Lincoln County to the east
• Ellsworth County to the southeast
• Barton County to the south
• Rush County to the southwest
• Ellis County to the west

Main Roads

The city of Russell is an important spot because two major highways meet there.

• Interstate 70 (I-70) is a big road that goes from east to west across the middle of the United States.
• U.S. Route 281 (US 281) goes from the Canadian border all the way to the Mexican border.

I-70 also passes through the towns of Gorham and Dorrance in Russell County. Russell is about 27 miles (43 km) east of Hays and 67 miles (108 km) west of Salina. If you travel further, Russell is about 250 miles (402 km) west of Kansas City, Missouri, and 360 miles (579 km) east of Denver, Colorado.

Another important road is K-18. It enters Russell County from the west, goes through Paradise, and then joins US 281 near Waldo. K-18 then splits off again near Luray and continues east into Lincoln County. US 281 heads north into Osborne County. South of I-70, US 281 goes towards Great Bend.

People in Russell County

This chart shows how many people of different ages live in Russell County (from the 2000 census).

In 2000, there were 7,370 people living in Russell County. The population density was about 8 people per square mile (3 people per square kilometer).

About 22.4% of the people were under 18 years old. About 24.1% were 65 years or older. The average age of people in the county was 44 years old.

Education in Russell County

Schools in Russell County have changed a lot over the years. The main school district, USD 407, now mostly serves the cities of Russell, Gorham, and Bunker Hill.

Lucas-Luray High School used to be part of USD 407. Now, it's part of the school district in Sylvan Grove. It has become a school for younger kids (Kindergarten to 6th grade). The elementary school in Luray has closed. Older students (grades 7-12) from Lucas and Luray now go to school in Sylvan Grove.

School Districts

Here are the main school districts that serve Russell County:

• Central Plains USD 112 (serves Dorrance and the southeastern part of the county)
• Sylvan–Lucas USD 299 (serves Lucas, Luray, and the northeast part of the county)
• Paradise-Natoma-Waldo USD 399 (serves Paradise, Waldo, and the northwest part of the county)
• Russell County USD 407 (serves Russell, Gorham, and Bunker Hill)

Communities in Russell County

A map of Russell County from 2005.

Russell County has several cities, small towns, and even some places that used to be towns but are now "ghost towns."

Cities

• Bunker Hill
• Dorrance
• Gorham
• Lucas
• Luray
• Paradise
• Russell (This is the county seat, where the main government offices are.)
• Waldo

Unincorporated Communities

These are small communities that are not officially cities. Some might even stretch into a neighboring county.

• Dubuque‡
• Fairport
• Milberger

Ghost Towns

These are places that used to be towns but are now abandoned.

• Bayne
• Blue Stem
• East Wolf
• Fay
• Forest Hill
• Greenvale
• Hawley
• Homer
• Jack
• Kennebec
• Success
• Winterset
• Woodville

Townships

A railroad map of Russell County from 1915-1918.

Russell County is divided into twelve smaller areas called townships. The city of Russell is separate and not included in these township numbers. The table below shows information about each township.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Russell (Kansas) para niños