Russia was founded by Lewis Phillips, who purchased and plotted the land where the village now sits. Phillips' house, built in 1853, was the first house in Russia; other settlers followed by the late 1850s. Phillips was also the first businessman in the village, opening a grocery store in 1853. Later settlers soon founded a dry goods store and multiple sawmills; Russia's economy was once heavily dependent on its sawmills. Among the earliest settlers were French-speaking Swiss who had served under Napoléon Bonaparte during the French invasion of Russia in 1812. According to tradition, the village's name commemorates a battle these veterans had fought in Russia.
Passages that mention Russia, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Shelby County, Ohio1913 · page 365Read the page →
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Russia, a station on the Big Four Railroad, according to the last census, has a population of 251 inhabitants. Its name was derived from the fact that as originally laid out it resembled a locality in Russia in which some of the first citizens had formerly lived. The first house erected within its limits was that of Lewis Phillip in 1853. He it was who purchased the original townsite from a man named Febaux, and conducted the sale of lots. The plat of the village was made subsequently. The second house was built by Clement Lachat in 1854, and the third by Ferial DeBrosse in 1856 or 1857. Among
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History of Shelby County, Ohio1913 · page 361Read the page →
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It is quite cosmopolitan in its citizenship, but from an early period the western portion has been settled largely by the French. It is traversed by the Big Four Railroad, with three stations in the township, namely: Dawson, North Houston and Russia. The old canal cuts through the northeast corner of the township. Loramie township is for the most part level and is exceedingly rich in its soil. It is well drained as within its limits are to be found Loramie creek and Nine Mile creek, together with various small tributaries. It is well suited for
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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