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History · Russell Township

44% of Russell Township’s homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1955 on.

1on the National Register
44%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.Old housesHalf of Russell Township’s homes were built before 1960.
★ 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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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 one of thirteen townships in Putnam County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 755 (down from 823 at 2010) and it contained 335 housing units. Russell Township was established in 1828.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 823 to 755 (-8%).

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

Timeline

Russell Township, 1828 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Blakesburgh post office opens
  3. 1839Post officeThe Blakesburgh post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1955On 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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On the map

Russell Township on the map, 1955 to 1963

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 1955 USGS mapRussell Township on the 1963 USGS map1955Russellville sheet · 1:24,000

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.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 115 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
115
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

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 →
William R. EllisAmerican politician · b. 1850
William E. HumphreyMember of the United States House of Representa… · b. 1862
C
Courtland C. GillenAmerican politician · b. 1880
J
Jim SpringerAmerican basketball player · b. 1926
Elijah Voorhees BrookshireAmerican politician · b. 1856
Warren GillAmerican baseball player · b. 1878
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Blakesburg
10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Russell Township
BakesburgForgeyHebronLaFolletteLandesNicolasPeffleyPisgahSkillmanSutherlin

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.

Greene Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrown Township2 historic placesAClinton Township1 historic placeBFranklin Township3 historic placesA+Scott Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storyC−

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.