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–Not graded
History · Russell Township

29% of Russell Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1917 on.

0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Russell Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Russell Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19173 editions of the USGS map, 1917 to 1964. Watch Russell Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Russell Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Russell Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Russell Township on the map, 1917 to 1964

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Russell Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Russell Township on the 1917 USGS mapRussell Township on the 1942 USGS mapRussell Township on the 1964 USGS map1917Birds sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Russell Township.

The story so far

Russell Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Russell Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Russell Township is located in Lawrence County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 397 and it contained 199 housing units. The township includes the village of Russellville on the Wabash River.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 450 to 397 (-12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Russell Township, 1884 to 1917

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Price post office opens
  3. 1896Post officeThe Price post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1917On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Russell Township

Nobody well known was born in Russell Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
James JonesAmerican author · b. 1921
Red SkeltonAmerican comedian · b. 1913
Alice TerryAmerican actress · b. 1899
Buck JonesAmerican actor · b. 1890
George W. JonesAmerican politician, judge and diplomat · b. 1804
Joseph W. BarrAmerican politician · b. 1918
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Price, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Brick School Number 3schoolEast Pinkstaff SchoolschoolHazel Dell SchoolschoolMiller SchoolschoolMohn SchoolschoolNorth Center SchoolschoolRising Sun SchoolschoolUnion Schoolschool
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Russell Township
AllisonEmmonsLagowOtterbeinPriceSaint PaulTannTevealt

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Allison TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBond TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMontgomery TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Russell Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.