Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1812.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Russell’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Russell is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Russell’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Russell’s 4.8 sits below most of its state (34% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1805.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Russell’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town land was purchased by Russell Atwater in 1798. The town was first settled in 1805.
Russell Attwater was elected the first town supervisor, when the town was formed in 1807 from Hopkinton from previously named townships: Dewitt, Ballybean and Sarahsburg. In 1813 and 1816, part of Russell was removed to form the Town of Fowler. More of Russell was taken to form, in whole or part, the Towns of Rossie (1813), Pierrepont (1818), and Fine (1849).
During the War of 1812, an arsenal was located in the town near Russell village. Sold in 1865, it served as a school for many years. The Arsenal was destroyed by fire in 1945.
The Russell Town Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
In 1805, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Russell’s post office opened in 1812, and the census of 1820 counted 486 people here.
How does Russell rank for history?
Russell is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Russell?
One place: the Russell Town Hall (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Russell?
26% of Russell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1981.
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).
From the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
