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History · Russell Township

Russell Township’s post office opened in 1884

Most of Russell Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1910.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Russell Township began

When was Russell Township founded?

1884

The Russell Township post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Russell (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 161 in 19102020 census: 41142 years
Founding year: the first Russell Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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.
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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

How Russell Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Russell Township.

Read it all →

Russell was established as a farm post office on August 21, 1901, with the postmaster being Austin C. Russell. The post office was relocated in 1905 one mile to the northeast to the townsite on the Soo Line Railroad. Russell incorporated in 1905, and the town reached the peak population of 161 in 1910. Russell would later decline to a population of 14 in 1970. Russell disincorporated on November 14, 1996.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Russell Township, 1884 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Russell post office opens
  3. 1899Post officeThe Russell post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1953On 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.

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On the map

Russell Township on the map, 1953 to 1975

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 1953 USGS mapRussell Township on the 1975 USGS map1953Jamestown sheet · 1:250,000

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.

People over time

Russell Township, census by census

01001920194019601980Peak: 161

Between 14 and 161 people in every census since 1910.

9 censuses, 1910–1990.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Russell Township’s Wikipedia 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 →
S
Sidney GilliatBritish film director, producer and screenwriter · b. 1908
Milton YoungAmerican politician · b. 1897
J
John BerkeyAmerican artist · b. 1932
V
Vernon R. LaningAmerican politician · b. 1948
P
Paul SheeksAmerican football player and coach · b. 1889
T
Tim MathernAmerican politician · b. 1950
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

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

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.

Adrian TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWano TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRoscoe TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGlenmore TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Russell Township’s history

What year was Russell Township founded?

The Russell Township post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.